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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 130

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Enrico Fermi and the Physics and Engineering of a nuclear pile: the retrieval of novel documents
We give a detailed account of the recent retrieval of a consistent amount (about 600 pages) of documents written by Enrico Fermi and/or his collaborators, coming from different sources previously…
S. Esposito, O. PisantiMar 7, 2008
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Discovery of the Color Degree of Freedom in Particle Physics: a Personal Perspective
I review the main features of the color charge degree of freedom in particle physics, sketch the paradox in the early quark model that led to color, give a personal perspective on the discovery of…
O. W. GreenbergMar 6, 2008
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Ludwig Valentin Lorenz is the discoverer of the "Lorenz gauge"!
The letter reminds the historical fact that the known "Lorenz gauge" (or "Lorenz condition/relation") is first mentioned in a written form and named after Ludwig Valentin Lorenz and…
Bozhidar Z. IlievMar 1, 2008
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Concepts of Symmetry in the Work of Wolfgang Pauli
"Symmetry" was one of the most important methodological themes in 20th-century physics and is probably going to play no lesser role in physics of the 21st century. As used today, there are a…
Domenico GiuliniFeb 29, 2008
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From Dual Models to String Theory
A personal view is given of the development of string theory out of dual models, including the analysis of the structure of the physical states and the proof of the No-Ghost Theorem, the quantization…
Peter GoddardFeb 22, 2008
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Myron Mathisson: what little we know of his life
Myron Mathisson (1897-1940) was a Polish Jew known for his work on the equations of motion of bodies in general relativity and for developing a new method to analyze the properties of fundamental…
Tilman Sauer, Andrzej TrautmanFeb 21, 2008
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Rise and fall of the old quantum theory
The old quantum theory of Bohr and Sommerfeld was abandonned for the wrong reason. Its contradictions were caused not by the orbit concept but by a mental barrier--the inconceivability that an…
Manfred BucherFeb 11, 2008
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On the Accuracy of Galileo's Observations
Galileo Galilei had sufficient skill as an observer and instrument builder to be able to measure the positions and apparent sizes of objects seen through his telescopes to an accuracy of 2" or…
Christopher M. GraneyFeb 8, 2008
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From Heisenberg to Einstein? Recollections and afterthoughts on the birth of string theory
A few recollections and afterthoughts on the development of the string picture of fundamental interactions out of the S-matrix program.
Renato MustoJan 30, 2008
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Remarks on the Origin of Path Integration: Einstein and Feynman
I offer some historical comments about the origins of Feynman's path integral approach, as an alternative approach to standard quantum mechanics. Looking at the interaction between Einstein and…
Tilman SauerJan 10, 2008
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Fermi, Pasta, Ulam and a mysterious lady
It is reported that the numerical simulations of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem were performed by a young lady, Mary Tsingou. After 50 years of omission, it is time for a proper recognition of her…
Thierry DauxoisJan 10, 2008
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A calendar Quipu of the early 17th century and its relationship with the Inca astronomy
The so-called Miccinelli documents are a set of documents which were written by Jesuit scholars in Peru within the first half of the 17th century. Among such documents, one contains the depiction of…
Laura Laurencich-Minelli, Giulio MagliJan 10, 2008
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Famed Bulgarian physicists. I. St. Petroff's Goettingen research of the photostimulated interconversions of color centers in alkali halides: the discovery of the photostimulated aggregation
This essay tells briefly of the life and work of one of the most successful scientists originating from a Balkan settlement whose name and popularity have greatly exceeded its realm. The word is of a…
Mladen GeorgievJan 8, 2008
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The epic journey from Kepler's laws to Newton's law of universal gravitation revisited
In this article, we review the main results of Volume I of Newton's Principia which relates Kepler's law of planets and universal gravitation. In order to clarify the reasoning of Newton,…
Hai-Chau Chang, Wu-Yi HsiangJan 1, 2008
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Letter to the Editor of Sky and Telescope Concerning Galileo's Observations of Mizar
Work published in Sky and Telescope in 2004 discusses Galileo's observations of the star Mizar. These observations raise questions regarding Galileo's assumptions about the universe and the…
Christopher M. GraneyDec 27, 2007
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Geometry as an object of experience: Kant and the missed debate between Poincaré and Einstein
Poincaré held the view that geometry is a convention and cannot be tested experimentally. This position was apparently refuted by the general theory of relativity and the successful confirmation of…
S. HacyanDec 13, 2007
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Jorge A. Swieca's contributions to quantum field theory in the 60s and 70s and their relevance in present research
After revisiting some high points of particle physics and QFT of the two decades from 1960 to 1980, I comment on the work by Jorge Andre Swieca. I explain how it fits into the quantum field theory…
Bert SchroerDec 3, 2007
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Space and time as containers, Space divisibility, and Unrepeatability of events
Our main purpose here is to study some qualitative aspects of space and time. These include the notion of space and time regarded as the containers of respectively bodies and events, the divisibility…
Mauricio Mondragon, Luis LopezNov 26, 2007
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Frisch, Muller and Belot on an Inconsistency in Classical Electrodynamics
This paper follows up a recent debate as to whether classical electrodynamics is inconsistent. I suggest that disagreements can be managed by disambiguating 'theory' in two different ways.
Peter VickersNov 20, 2007
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An unknown story: Majorana and the Pauli-Weisskopf scalar electrodynamics
An account is given of an interesting but unknown theory by Majorana regarding scalar quantum electrodynamics, elaborated several years before the known Pauli-Weisskopf theory. Theoretical…
S. EspositoOct 31, 2007
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The collaboration between Korteweg and de Vries -- An enquiry into personalities
In the course of the years the names of Korteweg and de Vries have come to be closely associated. The equation which is named after them plays a fundamental role in the theory of non-linear partial…
Bastiaan WillinkOct 27, 2007
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Comment on the history of the stretched exponential function
The original article of Rudolf Kohlrausch (1854) on stretched exponentials and their application to describe relaxation phenomena has been often misquoted in the literature after its rediscovery…
Manuel Cardona, Ralph V. Chamberlin, Werner MarxOct 24, 2007
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Phenomenological and ontological models in natural science
The observation of the nature and world represents the main source of human knowledge on the basis of our reason. At the present it is also the use of precise measurement approaches, which may…
Milos V. LokajicekOct 17, 2007
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Electron Spin or "Classically Non-Describable Two-Valuedness"
In December 1924 Wolfgang Pauli proposed the idea of an inner degree of freedom of the electron, which he insisted should be thought of as genuinely quantum mechanical in nature. Shortly thereafter…
Domenico GiuliniOct 16, 2007
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Exchange Reactions with Dick Dalitz
An account is given of the close collaboration of Dick Dalitz with the European K- Collaboration over many decades in many aspects of hypernuclear physics. In particular, emphasis is given to the…
D. H. DavisOct 12, 2007
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