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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 54

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Crossing borders in the 19th century and now -- two examples of weaving a scientific network
Scientific research is and was at all times a transnational (global) activity. In this respect, it crosses several borders: national, cultural, and ideological. Even in times when physical borders…
R. Folk, Yu. HolovatchFeb 18, 2020
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Sustained cartographic innovations in nascent French Canada
Jean Deshayes, a teacher of mathematics in his native France, single-handedly put Qu\'ebec on the map, literally. An accomplished astronomer, he used the lunar eclipse of 10--11 December 1685 to…
Richard de GrijsFeb 18, 2020
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Roland Eotvos: scientist, statesman, educator
This lecture recalls the memory of Baron Roland Eotvos, an outstanding figure of the experimental exploration of the gravitational interaction.
Andras PatkosFeb 13, 2020
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On the relation of free bodies, inertial sets and arbitrariness
We present a fully relational definition of inertial systems based in the No Arbitrariness Principle, that eliminates the need for absolute inertial frames of reference or distinguished reference…
Hernán G. Solari, Mario A. NatielloFeb 12, 2020
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Did Simon Marius observe Jupiter's satellites on January 8, 1610? An exercise in computation
The question, Did Simon Marius (1573-1625) observe Jupiter's satellites on January 8, 1610 (December 29, 1609 in the Julian calendar) is moot, for he did not disclose his research method and the…
Yaakov Zik, Giora Hon, Ilan ManulisFeb 11, 2020
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The Forgotten Life of Mileva Mari\'c Einstein
Today, February 11, is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the perfect day to remember Mileva Mari\'c Einstein, a brilliant but largely unknown scientist. While her husband, Albert…
Pauline GagnonFeb 11, 2020
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Expanding theory testing in general relativity: LIGO and parametrized theories
The multiple detections of gravitational waves by LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory), operated by Caltech and MIT, have been acclaimed as confirming Einstein's prediction,…
Lydia PattonFeb 10, 2020
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Stephen William Hawking: A Biographical Memoir
Stephen Hawking's contributions to the understanding of gravity, black holes and cosmology were truly immense. They began with the singularity theorems in the 1960s followed by his discovery that…
Bernard J. Carr, George F. R. Ellis, Gary W. Gibbons et al.Feb 8, 2020
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Joseph Polchinski: A Biographical Memoir
Joseph Polchinski (1954-2018), one of the the leading theoretical physicists of the past 50 years, was an exceptionally broad and deep thinker. He made fundamental contributions to quantum field…
Raphael Bousso, Fernando Quevedo, Steven WeinbergFeb 6, 2020
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El experimento de Cavendish
In this article, we present a description of the apparatus employed by Henry Cavendish, which in turn is actually a compendium of 17 complex experiments, to try to experimentally measure the…
Jonathan Taborda HernándezFeb 5, 2020
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Classical and intuitionistic mathematical languages shape our understanding of time in physics
Physics is formulated in terms of timeless classical mathematics. A formulation on the basis of intuitionist mathematics, built on time-evolving processes, would offer a perspective that is closer to…
Nicolas GisinFeb 4, 2020
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The Epistemic Virtues of the Virtuous Theorist: On Albert Einstein and His Autobiography
Albert Einstein's practice in physics and his philosophical positions gradually reoriented themselves from more empiricist towards rationalist viewpoints. This change accompanied his turn towards…
Jeroen van DongenFeb 4, 2020
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In Europe
As the History of Science Society, which is based in America, holds its annual meeting in Utrecht, one of the key academic centers on the European continent, one may surmise that the field has…
Jeroen van DongenFeb 4, 2020
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Particle Theory at Chicago in Late Sixties and p-Adic Strings
As a contribution requested by the editors of a Memorial Volume for Peter G.O. Freund (1936-2018), we recall the lively particle theory group at the Enrico Fermi Institute of the University of…
Paul H. FramptonJan 28, 2020
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Superconductivity, what the H? The emperor has no clothes
A magnetic field H is expelled from the interior of a metal becoming superconducting. Everybody thinks the phenomenon is perfectly well understood, particularly scientists with the highest H-index…
J. E. HirschJan 26, 2020
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Piles of piles: An inter-country comparison of nuclear pile development during World War II
Between the time of the discovery of nuclear fission in early 1939 and the end of 1946, approximately 90 nuclear piles were constructed in six countries. These devices ranged from simple graphite…
B. Cameron ReedJan 24, 2020
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Some insight into Feynman's approach to electromagnetism
We retrace an ab initio relativistic derivation of Maxwell's equations that was developed by Feynman in unpublished notes, clarifying the analogies and the differences with analogous treatments…
Marco Di Mauro, Roberto De Luca, Salvatore Esposito et al.Jan 24, 2020
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Solstice and Solar Position observations in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions
A major focus of the archaeoastronomical research conducted around the world focuses on understanding how ancient cultures observed sunrise and sunset points along the horizon, particularly at the…
Duane W. Hamacher, Robert S. Fuller, Trevor M. Leaman et al.Jan 24, 2020
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Physical Reality and the Unobservables of Physical Nature
The fundamental physical theories that interpret and explain behaviour of matter in nature are dependent on several unobservables and insensibles in their construction. While a rigorous natural…
C. S. UnnikrishnanJan 21, 2020
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Time's Arrow and Self-Locating Probability
One of the most difficult problems in the foundations of physics is what gives rise to the arrow of time. Since the fundamental dynamical laws of physics are (essentially) symmetric in time, the…
Eddy Keming ChenJan 16, 2020
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Profiles of James Peebles, Michel Mayor, and Didier Queloz: 2019 Nobel Laureates in Physics
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics honors three pioneering scientists for their fundamental contributions to basic cosmic questions - Professor James Peebles (Princeton University), Michel Mayor…
Neta Bahcall, Adam BurrowsJan 16, 2020
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Maxwell's Demon and its Fallacies Demystified
A demonic being, introduced by Maxwell, to miraculously create thermal non-equilibrium and violate the Second law of thermodynamics, has been among the most intriguing and elusive wishful concepts…
Milivoje M. KosticJan 16, 2020
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Foundations of Quantum Mechanics according to my teachers
These are author's recollections of informal discussions on foundations of quantum mechanics, which happened in his presence in 1970-80s
P. B. LernerJan 15, 2020
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Biographical Memoir of Stirling Colgate
Stirling Colgate was a remarkably imaginative physicist, an independent thinker with a wide breadth of interests and contagious enthusiasm, a born leader with enduring drive to attack fundamental…
W. David Arnett, Gordon Baym, Necia et al.Jan 14, 2020
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The idea of quarks: towards restoring of historical justice
Quite a long time ago several authors (see,e.g., Der, Pe ) mentioned that among pioneers of the quark idea we should take into consideration one more (in addition to M. Gell-Mann and G.…
Vladimir A. PetrovJan 14, 2020
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