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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 47

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Joseph Devaux (1902-1936) Meteorologist at Pic du Midi Observatory
Joseph Devaux, who held a position of assistant-meteorologist at Pic du Midi Observatory, had an outstanding career. He devoted his life to the Pic and to scientific research. A pioneer of the study…
Emmanuel Davoust, Jean-Paul MeyerNov 5, 2020
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Indeterminism in Physics and Intuitionistic Mathematics
Most physics theories are deterministic, with the notable exception of quantum mechanics which, however, comes plagued by the so-called measurement problem. This state of affairs might well be due to…
Nicolas GisinNov 4, 2020
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Angular momentum without rotation: turbocharging relationalism
Newton's rotating bucket pours cold water on the naive relationalist by vividly illustrating how certain rotational effects, particularly those due to non-zero angular momentum, can depend on more…
Henrique Gomes, Sean GrybNov 3, 2020
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Indeterminacy in classical cosmology with dark matter
We describe a case of indeterminacy in general relativity for homogeneous and isotropic cosmologies for a class of dark energy fluids. The cosmologies are parametrized by an equation of state…
Viqar Husain, Vladimir TasicNov 3, 2020
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The Dissipative Approach to Quantum Field Theory: Conceptual Foundations and Ontological Implications
Many attempts have been made to provide Quantum Field Theory with conceptually clear and mathematically rigorous foundations; remarkable examples are the Bohmian and the algebraic perspectives…
Andrea Oldofredi, Hans Christian ÖttingerOct 31, 2020
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Geometrodynamics as Functionalism about Time
We review three broadly geometrodynamical---and in part, Machian or relational---projects, from the perspective of spacetime functionalism. We show how all three are examples of functionalist…
Henrique Gomes, Jeremy ButterfieldOct 30, 2020
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Historical Context, Scientific Context, and Translation of Haidinger's (1844) Discovery of Naked-Eye Visibility of the Polarization of Light
In 1844, the Austrian mineralogist Wilhelm von Haidinger reported he could see the polarization of light with the naked eye. It appears as a faint, blurry, transient, yellow hourglass shape…
Robert P. O'Shea, Shelby E. Temple, Gary P. Misson et al.Oct 28, 2020
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Breve historia de la astrobiolog\'ia en Argentina
Astrobiology or exobiology is a relatively new area of science that investigates the possibilities of finding life in other places in the universe. This not only includes the exploration of planets…
Ximena C. AbrevayaOct 26, 2020
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The 1919 eclipse results which verified General Relativity and their later detractors: a story re-told
Einstein became world-famous on 7 November 1919, following press publication of a meeting held in London on 6 November 1919 where the results were announced of two British expeditions led by…
Gerard Gilmore, Gudrun Tausch-PebodyOct 26, 2020
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Do symmetries "explain" conservation laws? The modern converse Noether theorem vs pragmatism
Noether's first theorem does not establish a one-way explanatory arrow from symmetries to conservation laws, but such an arrow is widely assumed in discussions of the theorem in the physics and…
Harvey R. BrownOct 21, 2020
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Back to the Roots of Vector and Tensor Calculus. Heaviside versus Gibbs
In June 1888, Oliver Heaviside received by mail an officially unpublished pamphlet, which was written and printed by the American author Willard J. Gibbs around 1881-1884. This original document is…
Alessio RocciOct 19, 2020
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The Unpublished Feynman Diagram IIc
Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) is considered the most accurate theory in the history of science. However, this precision is limited to a single experimental value: the anomalous magnetic moment of the…
Oliver ConsaOct 18, 2020
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Isabelle Stone: breaking the glass ceiling with thin films and teaching
Physicist Isabelle Stone forged ahead in what was largely a men's profession in the early 1900s. She is credited as the first woman in the United States to obtain a Ph.D. in physics, one of the two…
Melia E. BonomoOct 16, 2020
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Pathological Water Science -- Four Examples and What They Have in Common
Pathological science occurs when well-intentioned scientists spend extended time and resources studying a phenomena that isn't real. Researchers who get caught up in pathological science are usually…
Daniel C. Elton, Peter D. SpencerOct 13, 2020
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Perceptual grouping explains constellations across cultures
Cultures around the world organise stars into constellations, or asterisms, and these groupings are often considered to be arbitrary and culture-specific. Yet there are striking similarities in…
Charles Kemp, Duane W. Hamacher, Daniel R. Little et al.Oct 13, 2020
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An Argument for the Non-Arbitrary Existence Hypothesis using Anthropic Reasoning
This paper uses anthropic reasoning to argue for the Non-Arbitrary Existence Hypothesis (NAEH). Nick Bostrom's Self-Sampling Assumption (SSA) combined with NAEH is compared against SSA without such…
Toby PereiraOct 9, 2020
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Are mental states nonlocal?
I show that if mental states are function of physical states, then they are nonlocal, in a sense that will be explained. I argue that, if mental states are reducible to brain physics, and if they are…
Ovidiu Cristinel StoicaOct 6, 2020
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Ramblings (Memoirs) of a Scientist
This paper is a faithful description of the author's career as a scientist, which often intersected that of Yves Couder. The emphasis of this paper is a true description of how the science that the…
Jay FinebergOct 6, 2020
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Hidden human variables in quantum mechanics?
The problem of the observer in quantum mechanics is getting new human content. The paradox of Wigner's friend and its extended versions have observers who not only observe quantum phenomena, but…
Göte NymanOct 6, 2020
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The founding of Arcetri Observatory in Florence
The first idea of establishing a public astronomical observatory in Florence, Capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, dates to the mid of the 18th century. Initially, the use of a low building on a…
Simone BianchiSep 30, 2020
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Temperaturskalan och Boltzmanns konstant
Temperature scale and the Boltzmann constant: The newest system of units is based on a compatible set of natural constants with fixed values. An example is the Boltzmann constant k which defines the…
G. J. Ehnholm, M. KrusiusSep 30, 2020
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What does the world look like according to superdeterminism?
The violation of Bell inequalities seems to establish an important fact about the world: that it is non-local. However, this result relies on the assumption of the statistical independence of the…
Augustin Baas, Baptiste Le BihanSep 29, 2020
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European Longitude Prizes. I. Longitude Determination in the Spanish Empire
Following Columbus' voyages to the Americas, Castilian (Spanish) and Portuguese rulers engaged in heated geopolitical competition, which was eventually reconciled through a number of treaties that…
Richard de GrijsSep 27, 2020
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John von Neumann's 1950s Change to Philosopher of Computation
John von Neumann's transformation from a logician of quantum mechanics (QM) in the 1920s to a natural philosopher of computation in the 1950s is discussed. The paper argues for revision of the…
Steven MeyerSep 25, 2020
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Time-Symmetry Breaking in Hamiltonian Mechanics. II. A Memoir for Berni Julian Alder [1925-2020]
This memoir honors the late Berni Julian Alder, who inspired both of us with his pioneering development of molecular dynamics. Berni's work with Tom Wainwright, described in the 1959 Scientific…
William Graham Hoover, Carol Griswold HooverSep 25, 2020
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