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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 19

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Jan Veth's paintings of Jacobus Kapteyn
Jacobus C. Kapteyn is regarded as one of the coryfees of the University of Groningen. Part of his legacy is two paintings of him by Dutch painter Jan Pieter Veth. One, showing him at his desk,…
Pieter C. van der KruitMay 27, 2024
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Positivism in Newtonian Mechanics: The Ousia or a Historical Liability?
The positivistic assumptions of determinism and objectivism in the realm of Newtonian mechanics are questioned in this paper. While objectivism is only challenged through proposing the mildest form…
Seyed Mohammad Rezaei NiyaMay 22, 2024
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Bohr and von Neumann on the Universality of Quantum Mechanics: Materials for the History of the Quantum Measurement Process
The Bohr and von Neumann views on the measurement process in quantum mechanics have been interpreted for a long time in somewhat controversial terms, often leading to misconceptions. On the basis of…
Federico LaudisaMay 13, 2024
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Revolutionizing Quantum Mechanics: The Birth and Evolution of the Many-Worlds Interpretation
The Many-worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics has captivated physicists and philosophers alike since its inception in the mid-20th century. This paper explores the historical roots,…
Arnub GhoshMay 11, 2024
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Ising's roots and the transfer-matrix eigenvalues
Today, the Ising model is an archetype describing collective ordering processes. And, as such, it is widely known in physics and far beyond. Less known is the fact that the thesis defended by Ernst…
Reinhard Folk, Yurij HolovatchMay 9, 2024
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Some Things I Have Learned From Detlef D\"urr
Detlef D\"urr (1951-2021) was a theoretical and mathematical physicist who worked particularly on the foundations of quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, and statistical mechanics. This piece is a…
Roderich TumulkaMay 7, 2024
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A Puzzle About General Covariance and Gauge
We consider two simple criteria for when a physical theory should be said to be "generally covariant", and we argue that these criteria are not met by Yang-Mills theory, even on geometric…
Eleanor March, James Owen WeatherallMay 6, 2024
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Polish Astrophysics: The First Half-Century, 1923-1973
An attempt is made to evaluate progress of the Polish astrophysical research of stars and of the inter-stellar medium (ISM) on the basis of scientific paper citations in the ADS database. Rather…
S. M. RucinskiMay 2, 2024
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Mikhail Lomonosov: Discourse on Greater Accuracy of Navigation
Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765) is the eminent Russian polymath and a towering figure of the European Enlightenment. This English translation of his seminal work Discourse on Greater Accuracy of…
Mikahil Lomonosov, Vladimir ShiltsevApr 29, 2024
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Dressing vs. Fixing: On How to Extract and Interpret Gauge-Invariant Content
There is solid consensus among physicists and philosophers that, in gauge field theory, for a quantity to be physically meaningful or real, it must be gauge-invariant. Yet, every "elementary" field…
Philipp Berghofer, Jordan FrançoisApr 29, 2024
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Stagnant Lakatosian Research Programmes
We propose an extension of the classical dichotomous categorization of research programmes into progress and degeneration according to Lakatos in the form of a neutral third category: the stagnant…
Johannes BranahlApr 28, 2024
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Mikhail Lomonosov: Oration on the Origin of Light
Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765) was the eminent Russian polymath and a towering figure of the European Enlightenment. This English translation of Mikhail Lomonosov seminal work "Oration on the Origin…
Mikhail Lomonosov, Vladimir ShiltsevApr 28, 2024
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Mikhail Lomonosov: Oration on Benefits of Chemistry
Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765) was a Russian polymath and one of the giants of the European Enlightenment. This English translation of his seminal work Oration on Benefits of Chemistry continues the…
Mikhail Lomonosov, Vladimir ShiltsevApr 27, 2024
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Mikhail Lomonosov: Oration on the Birth of Metals by Earth's Tremor
This English translation of seminal work of Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. It is derived from its Russian and Latin originals (1757) and continues the series of English translations of Lomonosov…
Mikhail Lomonosov, Vladimir ShiltsevApr 26, 2024
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On the Meaning of Local Symmetries: Epistemic-Ontological Dialectics
We propose our account of the meaning of local symmetries. We argue that the general covariance principle and gauge principle both are principles of democratic epistemic access to the law of physics,…
Jordan François, Lucrezia RaveraApr 26, 2024
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Gauge Invariance through Gauge Fixing
Phenomena in gauge theory are often described in the physics literature via a specific choice of gauge. In foundational and philosophical discussions this is often criticized as introducing gauge…
David WallaceApr 23, 2024
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Equivalence Relations in Quantum Theory: An Objective Account of Bases and Factorizations
In orthodox Standard Quantum Mechanics (SQM) bases and factorizations are considered to define quantum states and entanglement in relativistic terms. While the choice of a basis (interpreted as a…
Christian de Ronde, Raimundo Fernandez Moujan, Cesar MassriApr 23, 2024
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The quantum gravity seeds for laws of nature
We discuss the challenges that the standard (Humean and non-Humean) accounts of laws face within the framework of quantum gravity where space and time may not be fundamental. This paper identifies…
Vincent Lam, Daniele OritiApr 18, 2024
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The birth of StatPhys: The 1949 Florence conference at the juncture of national and international physics reconstruction after World War II
In spring 1949 about 70 physicists from eight countries met in Florence to discuss recent trends in statistical mechanics. This scientific gathering, co-organized by the Commission on Thermodynamics…
Roberto Lalli, Paolo PolitiApr 18, 2024
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The emergence of spacetime: what role for functionalism?
Among the various attempts to formulate a theory of quantum gravity, a class of approaches suggests that spacetime, as modeled by general relativity, is destined to fade away. A major issue becomes…
Emilia Margoni, Daniele OritiApr 17, 2024
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The Black Hole Idealization Paradox
Stephen Hawking's derivation of Hawking radiation relied on one particular spacetime model, that of a star collapsing into a black hole which then remains in existence forever. He then argued that…
Dominic RyderApr 15, 2024
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Founding the First Chemistry Laboratory in Russia: Mikhail Lomonosov's Project
This article, the third in a series about the Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765), covers the first decade of his research at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, from his return from…
Robert P. Crease, Vladimir ShiltsevApr 12, 2024
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Creative and geometric times in physics, mathematics, logic, and philosophy
We distinguish two different concepts of time that play a role in physics: geometric time and creative time. The former is the time of deterministic physics and merely parametrizes…
Flavio Del Santo, Nicolas GisinApr 9, 2024
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Did Louis de Broglie miss the discovery of the Schr\"odinger equation?
In this note, we discuss a historical point regarding Schr\"odinger's discovery of the famous quantum wave equation in 1926 following de Broglie's fundamental works published in 1923-1925 regarding…
Aurélien DrezetApr 9, 2024
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E. Amaldi, C. Dilworth, G.P.S. Occhialini on F.G. Houtermans
In the Occhialini-Dilworth Archives of the University of Milan are preserved four typescripts by E. Amaldi, dealing with F.G. Houtermans, German physicist, who fled to the USSR to escape the Nazis.…
Pasquale TucciApr 8, 2024
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