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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 33

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What Represents Space-time? And What Follows for Substantivalism vs. Relationalism and Gravitational Energy?
The questions of what represents space-time in GR, the status of gravitational energy, the substantivalist-relationalist issue, and the (non)exceptional status of gravity are interrelated. If…
J. Brian PittsAug 11, 2022
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The Planetary Machine by Johannes Kepler
While Kepler was still working in Graz during 1598, some letters to his mentor Michael Maestlin demonstrate his interest in astronomical clocks and machines. The first letter, dated January 6, 1598…
Deniele L. R. MariniAug 9, 2022
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What can we know about that which we cannot even imagine?
In this essay I will consider a sequence of questions. The first questions concern the biological function of intelligence in general, and cognitive prostheses of human intelligence in particular.…
David H. WolpertAug 8, 2022
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From heliocentrism to epicycles: A commentary on pre-Ptolemaic astronomy
If one wants to translate the heliocentric picture of planets moving uniformly on circular orbits about the sun to the perspective of a terrestrial observer, using classical (ancient) geometric means…
Erhard ScholzAug 3, 2022
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The meaning of the Sky of Salamanca
After presenting the main characteristics of the Sky of Salamanca, we analyse whether what is represented in it is motivated by astrological or astronomical considerations. We will see that the…
Carlos Tejero PrietoAug 2, 2022
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A critical examination of relativity theories
We give a brief critical examination of the special theory of relativity and a similar Newtonian framework to the first order of the v/c ratio, focusing on the phenomena of aberration, Fresnel…
Max TranJul 29, 2022
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How Dirac's Seminal Contributions Pave the Way for Comprehending Nature's Deeper Designs
Credible reasons are presented to reveal that many of the lingering century old enigmas, surrounding the behavior of at least an individual quantum particle, can be comprehended in terms of an…
Mani L. BhaumikJul 28, 2022
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Time, space and matter in the primordial universe
Time, space, and matter are categories of our reasoning, whose properties appear to be fundamental. However, these require a scrutiny as in the extreme regime of the primordial universe these present…
Francesca VidottoJul 27, 2022
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The reconstruction of the Antikythera Mechanism Instruction Manual after a diligent study and analysis of the Back cover inscription (Part-1 and Part-2)
The Inscriptions which were on the Back Cover of the Antikythera Mechanism were the Users Manual of the Antikythera Mechanism. In the Back Cover Inscription Part 1 text, the Presentation, Position,…
A. Voulgaris, C. Irakleous, C. Mouratidis et al.Jul 25, 2022
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Systematic errors in Galileo's astronomical observations and alleged anomalies in the position of Neptune
In 1980 Kowal and Drake found that in December 1612 and January 1613 Galileo observed the planet Neptune. At that time, according to these authors, Galileo was able to measure angular separations…
Enrico Bernieri, Gheorghe Stratan, Sara Bacchini et al.Jul 13, 2022
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A brief history of Florentine physics from the 1920s to the end of the 1960s
The history of the Institute of Physics at the University of Florence is traced from the beginning of the 20th century, with the arrival of Antonio Garbasso as Director (1913), to the 1960s. Thanks…
Roberto Casalbuoni, Daniele Dominici, Massimo MazzoniJul 12, 2022
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Milestones of research activity in quantum computing: EPS grand challenges
We argue that quantum computing underwent an inflection point circa 2017. Long promised funding materialised which prompted public and private investments around the world. Techniques from machine…
Zeki Can Seskir, Jacob BiamonteJul 6, 2022
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How John Wheeler lost his faith in the law
In 1972, at a symposium celebrating the 70th birthday of Paul Dirac, John Wheeler proclaimed that "the framework falls down for everything that one has ever called a law of physics". Responsible for…
Alexander S. Blum, Stefano FurlanJun 29, 2022
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La orientaci\'on de las iglesias jesu\'iticas en Am\'erica: resultados preliminares
We study the Jesuit mission churches in America, which for almost two centuries were the most representative constructions in the process of Christian evangelisation on the continent until the…
Adrian Di Paolo, Maria Florencia Muratore, Alejandro GanguiJun 28, 2022
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Remembering Professor H. H. Bolotin
Herb Bolotin was an excellent physicist and educator with a sense of fun and unique humor. He came to Australia as the Chamber of Manufacturers Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne in…
Andrew StuchberyJun 23, 2022
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The Local Validity of Special Relativity, Part 2: Matter Dynamics
In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as "locally special relativistic". In Part 1, we focused on senses in which a relativistic…
Samuel C. Fletcher, James Owen WeatherallJun 21, 2022
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The Local Validity of Special Relativity, Part 1: Geometry
In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as "locally special relativistic". Here, in Part 1, we focus on senses in which a relativistic…
Samuel C. Fletcher, James Owen WeatherallJun 21, 2022
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Boundaries of chaos and determinism in the cosmos
According to the standard model of cosmology, the arrangement of matter in the cosmos on scales much larger than galaxies is entirely specified by the initial conditions laid down during inflation.…
Mark Neyrinck, Shy Genel, Jens StückerJun 21, 2022
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Global apocalypse at the turn of the first Millennium AD? Climate fluctuations, astronomic phenomena and socio-political turbulences in 10th and 11th century Byzantium and Japan in comparative perspective
Around the turn of the first Millennium AD, both in Christian polities such as the Byzantine Empire as well as in Buddhist communities such as in Heian Japan, expectations of an end of times emerged.…
Johannes Preiser-KapellerJun 21, 2022
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Functional Epistemology "Nullifies" Dyson's Rebuttal of Perturbation Theory
Functional epistemology is about ways to access functional objects by using varieties of methods and procedures. Not all such means are equally capable of reproducing these functions in the desired…
Karl SvozilJun 20, 2022
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Commentari di Ipparco ai Fenomeni di Arato ed Eudosso
This is the first translation of Hipparchus Commentaries on the Phenomena of Aratus and Eudoxus into a modern language since the one, in German, published by the philologist Karl Heinrich August…
Gabriele Vanin, Bruna CusinatoJun 16, 2022
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On efforts to decouple early universe cosmology and quantum gravity phenomenology
The Big Bang singularity in standard model cosmology suggests a program of study in 'early universe' quantum gravity phenomenology. Inflation is usually thought to undermine this program's prospects…
Mike D. SchneiderJun 15, 2022
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H. Weyl's and E. Cartan's proposals for infinitesimal geometry in the early 1920s
In the early phase of general relativity Elie Cartan and Hermann Weyl thought about the question of how the role of transformation groups could be transferred from classical geometry (Erlangen…
Erhard ScholzJun 15, 2022
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Never bet against Einstein
Among the geniuses of mankind, Einstein was probably one of those who made more erroneous claims, and often changed his opinion during the years on important scientific subjects. However, it is…
Francesco De PaolisJun 14, 2022
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Likelihood criteria for the universe
The development of science and technology has progressively demonstrated the ability of humankind to understand and manipulate the physical world, and it has also shown some fundamental limitations…
Ezequiel López-RubioJun 2, 2022
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