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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 64

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Paul Wesson and Space-Time-Matter Theory
A short scientific biography is given of physicist Paul Wesson (1949-2015), who published over 300 works encompassing the fields of astrobiology, astrophysics, geophysics, cosmology, and relativity;…
James OverduinNov 15, 2018
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On the risk of premature unification
Although the wish to unify theories into something more fundamental is omnipresent and compelling, nonetheless, in a sense, theories must first be unifiable. The reasons for the success of the…
D DelphenichNov 14, 2018
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The birth of a genius. 1905
arXiv admin note: This submission has been withdrawn by arXiv administrators due to inflammatory content and unprofessional language
Tomasz BodzionyNov 12, 2018
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The Einsteins Quantum: How can Mathematics be Used to Articulate Reality?
In this paper, we discuss the role of Mathematics in articulating reality in theoretical Physics. We propose a parallel between empirical and theoretical work and investigate how scientists can also…
Nathan Willig Lima, Tommaso Venturini, Fernanda Ostermann et al.Nov 11, 2018
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Julian Schwinger: A Centennial Celebration at Harvard
A biographical profile of the theoretical physicist, Julian Schwinger, and a discussion of "The Memories of Julian" Centennial Celebration (held at Harvard University on February 12, 2018) is…
Steve NadisNov 9, 2018
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What we cannot learn from analogue experiments
Analogue experiments have attracted interest for their potential to shed light on inaccessible domains. For instance, `dumb holes' in fluids and Bose-Einstein condensates, as analogues of black…
Karen Crowther, Niels Linnemann, Christian WuthrichNov 9, 2018
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Albert Einstein and the fifth dimension. A new interpretation of the papers published in 1927
In 1927 Einstein sent two brief communications to the Prussian Academy of Sciences on Kaluza's five-dimensional theory. In his Einstein biography, Abraham Pais asserted that he could not understand…
Giulio Peruzzi, Alessio RocciNov 7, 2018
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Philipp Reis's telephone in Aberdeen
A telephone sender following the design of Johann Philipp Reis made by W Ladd, London 1863, in the Natural Philosophy Collection of the University of Aberdeen is illustrated and described. How Reis…
John S. Reid, Rebecca RonkeNov 4, 2018
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Karl Popper's Forgotten Role in the Quantum Debate at the Edge between Philosophy and Physics in 1950s and 1960s
It is not very well known that the philosopher Karl Popper has been one of the foremost critics of the orthodox interpretation of quantum physics for about six decades. This paper reconstructs in…
Flavio Del SantoNov 2, 2018
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Dirac quantisation condition: a comprehensive review
In most introductory courses on electrodynamics, one is taught the electric charge is quantised but no theoretical explanation related to this law of nature is offered. Such an explanation is…
Ricardo HerasOct 31, 2018
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Reasons in favor of a Hubble-Lemaitre-Slipher's (HLS) law
Based on historical facts, revisited from a present-day perspective, and on the documented opinions of the scientists involved in the discovery themselves, strong arguments are given in favor of a…
Emilio ElizaldeOct 29, 2018
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Death and Maier: meteors and mortuary rites in the eastern Torres Strait (Eud kerker: na korep maierira asmer opged Torres Straitge)
English: To the Meriam Mir people of Mer (Murray Island) in the eastern Torres Strait, bright meteors are an important element of death customs and beliefs. We draw from a combination of…
Carla B. Guedes, Duane W. Hamacher, John Barsa et al.Oct 26, 2018
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How the Saha Ionization Equation Was Discovered
Although the Saha ionization equation is a standard topic in advanced statistical physics and most professional physicists would have some knowledge of it, the exact nature of Meghnad Saha's…
Arnab Rai ChoudhuriOct 25, 2018
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Taking Mermin's Relational Interpretation of QM Beyond Cabello's and Seevinck's No-Go Theorems
In this paper we address a deeply interesting debate that took place at the end of the last millennia between David Mermin, Adan Cabello and Michiel Seevinck, regarding the meaning of relationalism…
Christian de Ronde, Raimundo Fernández Mouján, César MassriOct 23, 2018
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Free Lunch
The Free Lunch Principle: Nature thrives on freebies. She chooses nothing, and no one helps Her. She must use canonical mathematical structures as there is no one to tell Her otherwise. With this I…
George SvetlichnyOct 23, 2018
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Geometry and Motion in General Relativity
A classic problem in general relativity, long studied by both physicists and philosophers of physics, concerns whether the geodesic principle may be derived from other principles of the theory, or…
James Owen WeatherallOct 22, 2018
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Theoretical Equivalence in Physics
I review the philosophical literature on the question of when two physical theories are equivalent. This includes a discussion of empirical equivalence, which is often taken to be necessary, and…
James Owen WeatherallOct 18, 2018
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Entropy from Carnot to Bekenstein
The second half of this essay tells the story of the genesis and early development of the notion of black hole entropy, in the style of an after dinner talk (apart from a long technical footnote).…
Ted JacobsonOct 17, 2018
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The Science and Legacy of Richard Phillips Feynman
This year is the 100th birth anniversary of Richard Philips Feynman. This article commemorates his scientific contributions and lasting legacy.
Avinash Dhar, Apoorva D. Patel, Spenta R. WadiaOct 17, 2018
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Phases of physics in J.D. Forbes' Dissertation Sixth for the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1856)
This paper takes James David Forbes' Encyclopaedia Britannica entry, Dissertation Sixth, as a lens to examine physics as a cognitive, practical, and social, enterprise. Forbes wrote this survey of…
Isobel FalconerOct 14, 2018
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Against Fundamentalism
In this essay, I argue that the idea that there is a most fundamental discipline, or level of reality, is mistaken. My argument is a result of my experiences with the "science wars", a debate that…
Matthew Saul LeiferOct 11, 2018
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Newton's graphical method as a canonical transformation
This work shows that, Newton's Proposition 1 in the Principia, is an exact graphical representation of a canonical transformation, a first-order symplectic integrator generated at a…
Siu A. ChinOct 11, 2018
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Feynman-Schwinger Duality
Brief recollections of two giants of physics, their origins, similarities and differences.
S. DeserOct 11, 2018
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50 years in the Landau Institute environment
It is impossible to review all the fundamental works of Landau Institute, which made important contribution to physics in general. Here I will discuss only a part of these works, only those which…
G. E. VolovikOct 10, 2018
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Relativity in Argentine culture in the early twentieth century
In previous works we have considered various aspects of the reception of the theories of Albert Einstein in our country. In particular, we discussed the impact of his visit to Argentina in 1925, and…
Alejandro Gangui, Eduardo L. OrtizOct 8, 2018
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