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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 70

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Of Mites and Men: Johannes Kepler on Stars and Size
In his 1606 De Stella Nova, Johannes Kepler attempted to answer Tycho Brahe's argument that the Copernican heliocentric hypothesis required all the fixed stars to dwarf the Sun, something Brahe…
Christopher M. GraneyFeb 9, 2018
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The revolution in physics of the early Nineteenth century revisited in the context of science-and-society interaction
The radical changes in the concepts and approach in Physics at the turn of the Nineteenth century were so deep, that is acknowledged as a revolution. However, in 1970 Thomas Kuhn's careful…
Angelo BaraccaFeb 7, 2018
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Defining the principles for the motion of blood through arteries
This is an annotated translation from Latin of 'Principia pro motu sanguinis per arterias determinando' in which Euler develops the first known work on the mechanics of flows in elastic…
Sylvio R. BistafaFeb 7, 2018
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Why Is There Something, Rather Than Nothing?
It seems natural to ask why the universe exists at all. Modern physics suggests that the universe can exist all by itself as a self-contained system, without anything external to create or sustain…
Sean M. CarrollFeb 6, 2018
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The Labyrinth of Quantum Logic
Quantum mechanics predicts many surprising phenomena, including the two-slit interference of electrons. It has often been claimed that these phenomena cannot be understood in classical terms. But the…
Tim MaudlinFeb 6, 2018
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A Puzzle about Further Facts
In metaphysics, there are a number of distinct but related questions about the existence of "further facts" -- facts that are contingent relative to the physical structure of the universe.…
Vincent ConitzerFeb 4, 2018
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Is quantum mechanics creationism, and not science?
I revisit the reply of Bohr to Einstein. Bohr's assertion that there are no causes in atomic scale systems is, as a closer analysis reveals, not in line with the Copenhagen interpretation since it…
Werner A HoferFeb 1, 2018
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Quantum Mechanics and Perspectivalism
Experimental evidene of the last decades has made the status of "collapses of the wave function" even more shaky than it already was on conceptual grounds: interference effects turn out to be…
Dennis DieksJan 28, 2018
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Von Neumann's Impossibility Proof: Mathematics in the Service of Rhetorics
According to what has become a standard history of quantum mechanics, in 1932 von Neumann persuaded the physics community that hidden variables are impossible as a matter of principle, after which…
Dennis DieksJan 28, 2018
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Time Coordinates and Clocks: Einstein's Struggle
In his Autobiographical Notes, Einstein mentioned that on his road to the final theory of general relativity it was a major difficulty to accustom himself to the idea that coordinates need not…
Dennis DieksJan 28, 2018
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The recovery of George Berkeley's objective science of 1710 and its implications for traditional science
In 1710, George Berkeley, philospher and scientist, discovered that the directions in which we see (sightlines) are tilted 45 degrees towards the past from the directions in which we look. Looking…
S. CloughJan 28, 2018
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The Heuristic Function of Duality
I conceptualise the role of dualities in quantum gravity, in terms of their functions for theory construction. I distinguish between two functions of duality in physical practice: namely, discovering…
Sebastian De HaroJan 27, 2018
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"All that matter ... in one Big Bang ...," & other cosmological singularities
The first part of this paper contains a brief description of the beginnings of modern cosmology, which, the author will argue, was most likely born in the Year 1912. Some of the pieces of evidence…
Emilio ElizaldeJan 25, 2018
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Fine-Tuning, Complexity, and Life in the Multiverse
The physical processes that determine the properties of our everyday world, and of the wider cosmos, are determined by some key numbers: the 'constants' of micro-physics and the parameters…
Mario Livio, Martin J. ReesJan 22, 2018
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The 1916 PhD Thesis of Johannes Droste and the Discovery of Gravitational Repulsion
One of the biggest mysteries of astrophysics is the question of how highly energetic particles in relativistic jets and cosmic rays are accelerated. Recently, it has been suggested that gravitational…
Charles H. McGruder, B. Wieb VanDerMeerJan 21, 2018
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(Information) Paradox Regained? A Brief Comment on Maudlin on Black Hole Information Loss
We discuss some recent work by Tim Maudlin concerning Black Hole Information Loss. We argue, contra Maudlin, that there is a paradox, in the straightforward sense that there are propositions that…
JB Manchak, James Owen WeatherallJan 18, 2018
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A Quantum Story
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago there began a quest for how to interpret the theoretical constructs of the formalism. In fact, the pursuit of new…
Stephen BoughnJan 18, 2018
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Putting the astronomy back into Greek calendrics: the parapegma of Euktemon
A re-investigation of the parapegma of Euktemon (5th century BC, Athens), based on the assumption that some star observations may in fact have been calculated rather than directly observed. The…
Robert HannahJan 17, 2018
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Vladimir Platonovich Tsesevich (11.10.1907 - 28.10.1983)
The history of astronomy in Odessa is briefly discussed with a special emphasis on the scientific school of variable star researches founded by Prof. V.P.Tsesevich.
Ivan L. AndronovJan 16, 2018
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Four Physics Puzzles Viewed Ontologically: Duality, Collapse, Probability and Nonlocality
Wave-particle duality, wave function collapse, objective probability and nonlocality constitute four prominent puzzles in modern physics. Although these four topics may appear unrelated, a closer…
Paul A. KlevgardJan 15, 2018
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Beyond Falsifiability: Normal Science in a Multiverse
Cosmological models that invoke a multiverse - a collection of unobservable regions of space where conditions are very different from the region around us - are controversial, on the grounds that…
Sean M. CarrollJan 15, 2018
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The Doctoral Students of Richard Feynman
I document 32 students who graduated to receive PhDs under Feynman's supervision. I provide links to their doctoral dissertations.
T S Van KortrykJan 14, 2018
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Ontological Motivation in Obtaining Certain Quantum Equations: A Case for Panexperientialism
In this work I argue for the existence of an ontological state in which no entity in it can be more basic than the others in such a state. This is used to provide conceptual justification for a…
Juan VillacrésJan 13, 2018
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Screams for Explanation: Finetuning and Naturalness in the Foundations of Physics
We critically analyze the rationale of arguments from finetuning and naturalness in particle physics and cosmology. Some other numerological coincidences are also discussed.
S. HossenfelderJan 7, 2018
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Giulio Fermi's contributions to biophysics and molecular biology
This paper presents a comprehensive list of the scientific articles of Giulio Fermi (1936-1997), son of the Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, published between 1962 and 1997. The initial…
Fabio PichierriJan 7, 2018
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