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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 16

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Hipparchus Star Catalogues
In this article I discuss the fragments of Hipparchus' star catalogue and compare them to Hipparchus' Exegesis to trace the early history of stellar catalogues in Greek astronomy.
Francesca SchironiOct 25, 2024
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Quantum Probabilities Are Objective Degrees of Epistemic Justification
QBism is currently one of the most widely discussed 'subjective' interpretations of quantum mechanics. Its key move is to say that quantum probabilities are personalist Bayesian probabilities and…
Philipp BerghoferOct 24, 2024
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Transient Phenomena of Mercury
The similarity of Mercury to the Moon raises the question on mercurian analogues of lunar transient phenomena. However, since the mid-1960s, this topic has remained out of attention. Nevertheless,…
Oleksiy ArkhypovOct 23, 2024
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Fusion divided: what prevented European collaboration on controlled thermonuclear fusion in 1958
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva is renowned for operating the world`s largest particle accelerator and is often regarded as a model of high-profile international…
Barbara HofOct 21, 2024
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What Emergence Can Possibly Mean
We consider emergence from the perspective of dynamics: states of a system evolving with time. We focus on the role of a decomposition of wholes into parts, and attempt to characterize relationships…
Sean M. Carroll, Achyuth ParolaOct 20, 2024
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Moderate Physical Perspectivalism
Recent developments in foundations of physics have given rise to a class of views suggesting that physically meaningful descriptions must always be relativized to a physical perspective. In this…
Emily AdlamOct 17, 2024
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What Reference Frames Teach Us. Part I: About Symmetry Principles and Observability
This paper is an exploration of the nuanced realm of reference frames within the framework of General Relativity. Our analysis exposes a violation of Earman's SP1 principle in scenarios involving…
Nicola Bamonti, Henrique GomesOct 16, 2024
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Bounds on the rates of growth and convergence of all physical processes
The upper limit on what is computable in our universe is unknown, but widely believed to be set by the Turing machine -- with a function being physically computable if and only if it is…
Toby OrdOct 14, 2024
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Implications of Tarski's Undefinability Theorem on the Theory of Everything
The Theory of Everything (SToE) seeks to unify all fundamental forces of nature, including quantum gravity, into a single theoretical framework. This theory would be defined internally…
Mir Faizal, Arshid Shabir, Aatif Kaisar KhanOct 13, 2024
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The Quantum Master and its Classical Emissary
Ian McGilchrist's works present the thesis that the two hemispheres of the brain have radically different modes of interacting with the world, and that their respective perceptions and functions must…
R. E. KastnerOct 13, 2024
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GPS Observables in Newtonian Spacetime or Why We Do Not Need 'Physical' Coordinate Systems
Some authors have defended the claim that one needs to be able to define 'physical coordinate systems' and 'observables' in order to make sense of general relativity. Moreover, in Rovelli (Physical…
Álvaro Mozota FraucaOct 11, 2024
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Distribution can be Dropped: Reply to Rumfitt
Most believe that there are no empirical grounds that make the adoption of quantum logic necessary. Ian Rumfitt has further argued that this adoption is not possible, either, for the proof that…
Iulian D. ToaderOct 9, 2024
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How do we Observe Relational Observables?
In theories with a diffeomorphism symmetry, such as general relativity and canonical quantum gravity, it is often proposed that the empirical content is encoded in relational observables. But how do…
Emily AdlamOct 7, 2024
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What is a physical theory? Philosophers do have an answer by distinguishing two forms of empirical adequacy
What is a physical theory? Although this intriguing question has been addressed from many different perspectives, some physicists and philosophers of physics have implicitly or explicitly embraced a…
Jorge ManeroOct 6, 2024
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Nowruz, Umar Khayyam, Calendar and Constellations
This article provides information about the factors that necessitated the need to adjust the calendar during the time of Umar Khayyam, the method of choosing the beginning of the year, and the length…
Rizoi BakhromzodOct 5, 2024
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The Fear of Halley's Comet Visit in 1910 is Preserved in a Cave in Southern Puerto Rico
This paper explores a unique cave art found in southern Puerto Rico that depicts a comet over a tomb. Through interdisciplinary methods, including art interpretation, historical documentation, and…
Abel Méndez, Ángel Acosta-ColónOct 4, 2024
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Hume's dictum as a guide to ontology
In this paper I aim to defend one version at least of Hume's dictum: roughly, the idea that possibility is determined by ontology through something like independent variation. My defence is broadly…
Adam CaultonOct 3, 2024
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Book Review: 'Background Independence in Classical and Quantum Gravity', by James Read
This is a review of James Read's insightful book, Background Independence in Classical and Quantum Gravity. The book introduces various notions of background-independence which it then makes precise,…
Sebastian De HaroOct 1, 2024
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Evaluating Jacob Bernoulli's Ship Propulsion Artifice: Euler's Analysis and Critique
The present work examines and compares the approaches of Jacob Bernoulli and Leonhard Euler to the problem of ship propulsion generated by internal forces. Jacob Bernoulli's analysis, developed in…
Sylvio R. BistafaSep 30, 2024
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A translation of L. Euler's " Examination of an artifice for propelling a ship by the principle of internal motion"
The following translation of Leonhard Euler's "Examination of an Artifice for Propelling a Ship by the Principle of Internal Motion," originally published in 1750, offers a glimpse into a fascinating…
Sylvio R. BistafaSep 30, 2024
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Spacetime emergence: an (in)effective story
Physicists and philosophers are increasingly prone to regarding our current physical theories as providing 'effective descriptions' of real-world systems. In the context of quantum gravity research,…
Mike D. SchneiderSep 30, 2024
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Thermodynamics without Time
Our fundamental theories, i.e., the quantum theory and general relativity, are invariant under time reversal. Only when we treat system from the point of view of thermodynamics, i.e., averaging…
Francesca VidottoSep 27, 2024
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Majorana and the bridge between matter and anti-matter
This short essay aims to offer a discursive presentation of three scientific articles by Ettore Majorana highlighting the fundamental importance of one of them - the last one - for the investigation…
Francesco VissaniSep 26, 2024
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1930-1937: the first β-rays and neutrino theories
The conceptual bases of Fermi's β-ray theory (at its 90th anniversary) are examined, highlighting the innovative drive and inspirational role for the progress that followed just afterwards.…
Francesco VissaniSep 26, 2024
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Music, Immortality, and the Soul
Music has been called the temporal art par excellence. Yet, as this paper explains, it is also the atemporal art par excellence. The contradiction is, however, only apparent, and a result of viewing…
Dean RicklesSep 20, 2024
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