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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 129

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The Rise of Quantum Mechanics
The rise of quantum mechanics is reviewed with special attention to the development between June 1925 and October 1927 when the Copenhagen interpretation was proposed.
Sigfrido BoffiJun 27, 2008
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The cosmology of the Divine Comedy
Since the time of ancient civilizations, cosmology had a privileged place within the various artistic and literary manifestations. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, one of the masterpieces in…
Alejandro GanguiJun 25, 2008
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Landau singularity and the instability of vacuum state in QED
Quantum Eletrodynamics (QED) is considered as the most successful of all physical theories. It can predict numerical values of physical quantities to a spectacular degree of accuracy. However, from…
Mofazzal AzamJun 13, 2008
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Landau's Last Paper and its Impact on Developments in Mathematics, Physics and Other Disciplines in New Millennium
In this paper we discuss the impact of the last Landau paper on physics and mathematics to date and make some predictions about its likely impact on sciences in new millennium.
Arkady L. KholodenkoJun 6, 2008
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A note on space dimensionality constraints relied on Anthropic arguments: methane structure and the origin of life
A general sketch of how the problem of space dimensionality depends on Anthropic arguments is presented. A new argument in favor of a stable scenario for space dimensionality for a time scale longer…
Francisco CarusoJun 4, 2008
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Bohr's atomic model revisited
Bohr's atomic model, its relationship to the radiation spectrum of the hydrogen atom and the inherent hypotheses are revisited. It is argued that Bohr could have adopted a different approach,…
Francisco Caruso, Vitor OguriJun 3, 2008
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Complex and Unpredictable Cardano
This purely recreational paper is about one of the most colorful characters of the Italian Renaissance, Girolamo Cardano, and the discovery of two basic ingredients of quantum theory, probability and…
Artur EkertJun 3, 2008
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The Origin of Semiconductor Physics in Italy: 1945 - 1965
The activities carried out by Italian physicists in the field of semiconductor physics during the period spanning from 1945 to the foundation of the National Group of Structure of the Matter (GNSM,…
Marco Luca RossiMay 25, 2008
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A theory of ferromagnetism by Ettore Majorana
We present and analyze in detail an unknown theory of ferromagnetism developed by Ettore Majorana as early as the beginnings of 1930s, substantially different in the methods employed from the…
S. EspositoMay 20, 2008
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Quantum Gravity Yesterday and Today
We present a talk given by Bryce DeWitt on Quantum Gravity, and present many references. This article is the first installment of the book "The Pursuit of Quantum Gravity 1946-2004; Memoirs of…
Bryce DeWittMay 19, 2008
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Scientific Realism and Classical Physics
We recount the successful long career of classical physics, from Newton to Einstein, which was based on the philosophy of scientific realism. Special emphasis is given to the changing status and…
Virendra SinghMay 13, 2008
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Einstein's E = mc2 mistakes
Although Einstein's name is closely linked with the celebrated relation E = mc2 between mass and energy, a critical examination of the more than half dozen "proofs" of this relation that…
Hans C. OhanianMay 9, 2008
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The color charge degree of freedom in particle physics
We review the color charge degree of freedom in particle physics.
O. W. GreenbergMay 2, 2008
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Fermi at Los Alamos and the early Britain's way to nuclear energy
A novel recovery of some important documents related to the Fermi course on neutron physics, held at Los Alamos in 1945, is announced. Its relevance for the effective launch of a British nuclear…
S. EspositoMay 2, 2008
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Accelerator Disaster Scenarios, the Unabomber, and Scientific Risks
The possibility that experiments at high-energy accelerators could create new forms of matter that would ultimately destroy the Earth has been considered several times in the past quarter century.…
Joseph I. KapustaApr 30, 2008
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Principles of the motion of fluids
This is an English translation of Euler's article "Principia motus fluidorum" in which the Euler equation (in two three dimensions) has been established for the first time in 1752. The…
Leonhard EulerApr 30, 2008
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Quantum Mechanics, is it magic?
We show that quantum mechanics is the first theory in human history that violates the basic a priori principles that have shaped human thought since immemorial times. Therefore although it is more…
M. Ferrero, D. Salgado, J. L. Sanchez-GomezApr 26, 2008
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The relativity of inertia and reality of nothing
We first see that the inertia of Newtonian mechanics is absolute and troublesome. General relativity can be viewed as Einstein's attempt to remedy, by making inertia relative, to matter---perhaps…
Alexander Afriat, Ermenegildo CacceseApr 19, 2008
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How Weyl stumbled across electricity while pursuing mathematical justice
It is argued that Weyl's theory of gravitation and electricity came out of `mathematical justice': out of the equal rights direction and length. Such mathematical justice was manifestly at…
Alexander AfriatApr 18, 2008
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History of the Kohlrausch (stretched exponential) function: Focus on uncited pioneering work in luminescence
The first use of the stretched exponential function to describe the time evolution of a non-equilibrium quantity is usually credited to Rudolph Kohlrausch (1809-1858), who in 1854 applied it to the…
M. Berberan-Santos, E. N. Bodunov, B. ValeurApr 10, 2008
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Ettore Majorana and his heritage seventy years later
The physicists working in several areas of research know quite well the name of Ettore Majorana, since it is currently associated to fundamental concepts like Majorana neutrinos in particle…
S. EspositoMar 25, 2008
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Asymptotic freedom: history and interpretation
In this lecture, the early history of asymptotic freedom is discussed. The first completely correct derivation of β0 in non-abelian gauge theory (Khriplovich, 1969) was done in the Coulomb gauge;…
Andrey GrozinMar 18, 2008
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Some insights from total collapse
We discuss the Sundman-Weierstrass theorem of total collapse in its historical context. This remarkable and relatively simple result, a type of stability criterion, is at the crossroads of some…
Sergio B. VolchanMar 14, 2008
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E.C.G. Stueckelberg: a forerunner of modern physics II
We will investigate some aspects of Stueckelberg's work, which have contributed to the development of modern physics. On the one hand, the definition of diffuse boundaries in the calculation of…
F. Cianfrani, O. M. LecianMar 11, 2008
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Freedom in Nature
The paper starts with the proposal that the cause of the apparent insolubility of the free-will problem are several popular but strongly metaphysical notions and hypotheses. To reduce the…
Petr HajicekMar 10, 2008
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