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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 35

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Special theory of regularity
The theory of regularity is a philosophical perspective in which laws of nature are just descriptions, that is to say, laws of nature do not govern the world. Moreover, according to the theory of…
Juliano C. S. NevesApr 18, 2022
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The pioneering scientific endeavor and contributions of Jose Maria Gonzalez Benito (1843-1903), the first Colombian modern astronomer
Astronomical interest within the current Colombian territory has its roots in the Botanical Expedition of the New Kingdom of Granada (1783-1813), which stimulated the creation of an astronomical…
Freddy Moreno Cardenas, Santiago Vargas Dominguez, Jorge CuellarApr 17, 2022
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Tabletop Experiments for Quantum Gravity Are Also Tests of the Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
Recently there has been a great deal of interest in tabletop experiments intended to exhibit the quantum nature of gravity by demonstrating that it can induce entanglement. We argue that these…
Emily AdlamApr 17, 2022
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A Solution to Galileo's Enigma "Mostro Son Io"
Galileo Galilei was a skilled writer and explored several genres, from the well-known scientific writings (often in the form of dialogs) to theater and poetry. His last published poem, "Mostro son…
Giovanni Busetto, Alessandro De AngelisApr 15, 2022
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Entanglement, Complexity, and Causal Asymmetry in Quantum Theories
It is often claimed that one cannot locate a notion of causation in fundamental physical theories. The reason most commonly given is that the dynamics of those theories do not support any distinction…
Porter WilliamsApr 14, 2022
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The Fate of Causal Structure under Time Reversal
What happens to the causal structure of a world when time is reversed? At first glance it seems there are two possible answers: the causal relations are reversed, or they are not. I argue that…
Porter WilliamsApr 14, 2022
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Is thermodynamics fundamental?
It is a common view in philosophy of physics that thermodynamics is a non-fundamental theory. This is motivated in particular by the fact that thermodynamics is considered to be a paradigmatic…
Michael te Vrugt, Paul Needham, Georg J. SchmitzApr 9, 2022
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Galileo Galilei and a forgotten poem on the 1604 supernova
In October 1604, when SN1604, the last naked-eye visible supernova in our Galaxy, exploded, Galileo Galilei was the professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Padua, teaching the…
Alessandro De AngelisApr 8, 2022
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Where Does General Relativity Break Down?
It is widely accepted by physicists and philosophers of physics alike that there are certain contexts in which general relativity will "break down". In such cases, one expects to need some as-yet…
James Owen WeatherallApr 8, 2022
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Taking models seriously and being a linguistic realist
Carnap's conception of linguistic frameworks is widespread; however, it is not entirely clear nor consensual to pinpoint what is the influence in his stance within the traditional…
Raoni Wohnrath Arroyo, Gilson Olegario da SilvaApr 7, 2022
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Physics is organized around transformations connecting contextures in a polycontextural world
The rich body of physical theories defines the foundation of our understanding of the world. Its mathematical formulation is based on classical Aristotelian (binary) logic. In the philosophy of…
Johannes Falk, Edwin Eichler, Katja Windt et al.Apr 7, 2022
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Schottky's forgotten step to the Ising model
A longstanding problem in natural science and later in physics was the understanding of the existence of ferromagnetism and its disappearance under heating to high temperatures. Although a…
Reinhard Folk, Yurij HolovatchApr 5, 2022
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A Discrete Analog of General Covariance -- Part 1: Could the world be fundamentally set on a lattice?
A crucial step in the history of General Relativity was Einstein's adoption of the principle of general covariance which demands a coordinate independent formulation for our spacetime theories.…
Daniel GrimmerApr 4, 2022
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An astronomical analysis of Hipparchus' Commentaries
Hipparchus is considered the greatest astronomer of antiquity. However, his fame is due, more than to what he has done, or said, or written, to what the scientists of some generation or of a few…
Gabriele VaninApr 2, 2022
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The (meta)metaphysics of science: the case of non-relativistic quantum mechanics
Traditionally, to be a realist about something means believing in the independent existence of that something. In this line of thought, a scientific realist is someone who believes in the objective…
Raoni W. Arroyo, Jonas R. B. ArenhartApr 1, 2022
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Comparing constellations across cultures
Cultural astronomy reveals ways in which perception and culture have shaped the interpretation of the night sky.
Charles Kemp, Duane W Hamacher, Daniel R Little et al.Mar 30, 2022
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Giotto e Galileu: novos olhares sobre o C\'eu e sobre o Livro da Natureza
In this work, an attempt is presented to understand the contribution of Galileo Galilei in the field of the History of Ideas, from the moment he points a spyglass to the sky. For that, it was…
Francisco CarusoMar 28, 2022
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The Initial Calibration Date of the Antikythera Mechanism after the Saros spiral mechanical Apokatastasis
This work analyzes the phase correlation of the three lunar cycles and the Saros/Exeligmos cycle, after the study of the chapter About Exeligmos in Introduction to the Phenomena by Geminus. Geminus,…
Aristeidis Voulgaris, Christophoros Mouratidis, Andreas VossinakisMar 28, 2022
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Recollections of John Wheeler
Recollections by the author about how his interactions with John Wheeler influenced his career in physics.
James HartleMar 26, 2022
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Recollections of Steven Weinberg
Brief recollections of how the author interacted with Steve Weinberg over issues in quantum mevhanics
James HartleMar 26, 2022
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The Survival of Ernst Ising and the Struggle to Solve His Model
The life of Ernst Ising and the steps to solving the model named after him are reported in parallel. Wilhelm Lenz suggested his student Ernst Ising to explain the existence of ferromagnetism on the…
Reinhard FolkMar 25, 2022
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Historical curiosity: how asymptotic freedom of the Yang-Mills theory could have been discovered three times before Gross, Wilczek, and Politzer, but was not
This article was published in 2001 in Festschrift "At the Frontier of Particle Physics; Handbook of QCD", Ed. M. Shifman, (World Scientific, Singapore, 2001), Vol. 1, page 126. Asymptotic freedom as…
M. ShifmanMar 22, 2022
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A physical approach to qualia and the emergence of conscious observers in qualia space
I propose that qualia are physical because they are directly observable, and revisit the contentious link between consciousness and quantum measurements from a new perspective -- one that does not…
Pedro ResendeMar 20, 2022
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The Visit of Prof. Hideki Yukawa to Kochi to Attend the Unveiling Ceremony of the Yukawa Bronze Statue: Turning Point in Life
We have discovered unknown very valuable old photos of Prof. Hideki Yukawa at the unveiling ceremony of his bronze statue at an elementary school in Kochi in 1954. The statue was moved to a newly…
Shigeo OhkuboMar 18, 2022
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What is Time? -- Thoughts of a Physicist
Discussion of some aspects of the concept of time for a general audience: nature of time, A- and B-series, time in physics, the "now", measurement of time, definition of time units, time's arrow,…
Gernot MünsterMar 17, 2022
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