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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 76

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La leggenda del quanto centenario
Around year 2000 the centenary of Planck's thermal radiation formula awakened interest in the origins of quantum theory, traditionally traced back to the Planck's conference on 14 December…
A. M. Aloisi, P. F. NaliApr 25, 2017
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Relativistic Dynamics of the Compton Diffusion on a Bound Electron
A covariant relativistic formalism for the electron-photon and nuclear dynamics is summarised making more accurate predictions in agreement with experiments for Compton scattering in shells with…
Salwa AlsalehApr 23, 2017
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Encounters with Alex
In the 80th anniversary book for Alex Müller I wrote a story of our scientific collaboration, Shared Fascinations. This time I will be more personal, about the human side of our collaboration and…
Kristian FossheimApr 21, 2017
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The last paper "On the theory of storm" (Zur Sturmtheorie) published by Max Margules in 1906
The paper "On the theory of storm" (Zur Sturmtheorie) is the last one Max Margules has published in 1906, just before to "bid farewell to Meteorology" (using his words). The lack of…
Pascal MarquetApr 20, 2017
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A brief history (and geography) of Supergravity: the first three weeks... and after
I summarize, at its 41st--and what would have been Bruno's 94th--birthday, the history of the discoveries of Supergravity and some of its structure and later developments.
S. DeserApr 19, 2017
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Francesco Fontana and his "astronomical" Telescope
In the late 1620s the Neapolitan telescope maker Francesco Fontana was the first to observe the sky using a telescope with two convex lenses, which he had manufactured himself. Fontana succeeded in…
Paolo MolaroApr 19, 2017
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Einstein's 1935 papers: EPR=ER?
In May of 1935, Einstein published with two co-authors the famous EPR-paper about entangled particles, which questioned the completeness of Quantum Mechanics by means of a gedankenexperiment. Only…
Gerd Christian KrizekApr 15, 2017
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A new Physics to support the Copernican system. Gleanings from Galileo's works
Galileo's support to the Copernican theory was decisive for the revolutionary astronomical discoveries he achieved in 1610. We trace the origins of Galileo's conversion to the Copernican…
Giulio PeruzziApr 11, 2017
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Market Crashes as Critical Phenomena? Explanation, Idealization, and Universality in Econophysics
We study the Johansen-Ledoit-Sornette (JLS) model of financial market crashes (Johansen, Ledoit, and Sornette [2000] "Crashes as Critical Points." Int. J. Theor. Appl. Finan. 3(2) 219-255).…
Jennifer Jhun, Patricia Palacios, James Owen WeatherallApr 7, 2017
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What is Science?
This paper proposes a new definition of science based on the distinction between the activity of scientists and the product of that activity: the former is denoted (lower-case) science and the latter…
P C HohenbergApr 5, 2017
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The quest for the size of the universe in early relativistic cosmology (1917-1930)
Before the discovery of the expanding universe, one of the challenges faced in early relativistic cosmology was the determination of the finite and constant curvature radius of space-time by using…
Giulio Peruzzi, Matteo RealdiApr 4, 2017
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Comets, historical records and vedic literature
A verse in book I of Rigveda mentions a cosmic tree with rope-like aerial roots held up in the sky. Such an imagery might have ensued from the appearance of a comet having `tree stem' like tail, with…
Patrick Das GuptaApr 1, 2017
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On the relativistic theory of force-free particles with any spin
In the free case, it is possible to define quantum fields which describe particles with integer or half-integer spin larger than one. It is shown that particles with integer spin must have Bose…
Markus Fierz, Guglielmo PasaMar 30, 2017
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Stellar structure and compact objects before 1940: Towards relativistic astrophysics
Since the mid-1920s, different strands of research used stars as "physics laboratories" for investigating the nature of matter under extreme densities and pressures, impossible to realize on…
Luisa BonolisMar 29, 2017
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Remarks to the article: New Light on the Invention of the Achromatic Telescope Objective
The article analysis was carried out within the confines of the replication project of the telescope, which was used by Mikhail Lomonosov at observation the transit of Venus in 1761. At that time he…
Igor NesterenkoMar 27, 2017
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Einstein in 1916: "On the Quantum Theory of Radiation"
In this contribution I discuss a peak in Einstein's endeavor to extract as much information as possible about the nature of radiation from the Planck distribution is his paper "On the Quantum…
Norbert StraumannMar 23, 2017
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Quantum jumps, superpositions, and the continuous evolution of quantum states
The apparent dichotomy between quantum jumps on the one hand, and continuous time evolution according to wave equations on the other hand, provided a challenge to Bohr's proposal of quantum jumps…
Rainer DickMar 18, 2017
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Planck's radiation law, the light quantum, and the prehistory of indistinguishability in the teaching of quantum mechanics
Planck's law for black-body radiation marks the origin of quantum theory and is discussed in all introductory (or advanced) courses on this subject. However, the question whether Planck really…
Oliver Passon, Johannes Grebe-EllisMar 16, 2017
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Where telescopes cannot (yet) see - the Moon as seen by Scriven Bolton, Etienne Trouvelot, Lucien Rudaux, Chesley Bonestell
Scientific illustrations, thanks to the vision of great artists fascinated by astronomical research and astronautics, have provided us with an accurate depiction of the possible views which mankind…
Angelo AdamoMar 15, 2017
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The Early Scientific Contributions of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Why Did the Scientific Community Miss the Black Hole Opportunity?
We aim to carry out an assessment of the scientific value of Oppenheimer's research on black holes in order to determine and weigh possible factors to explain its neglect by the scientific…
Manuel Ortega-Rodríguez, Hugo Solís-Sánchez, Eduardo Boza-Oviedo et al.Mar 13, 2017
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Spinor analysis
"Let us call the novel quantities which, in addition to the vectors and tensors, have appeared in the quantum mechanics of the spinning electron, and which in the case of the Lorentz group are…
B. L. van der Waerden in Groningen, Guglielmo PasaMar 7, 2017
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Cosmology and Convention
I argue that some important elements of the current cosmological model are "conventionalist" in the sense defined by Karl Popper. These elements include dark matter and dark energy; both are…
David MerrittMar 7, 2017
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The utterly prosaic connection between physics and mathematics
Eugene Wigner famously argued for the "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" for describing physics and other natural sciences in his 1960 essay. That essay has now led to some 55 years…
Matt VisserMar 2, 2017
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History of Quantum Mechanics or the Comedy of Errors
The goal of this paper is to explain how the views of Albert Einstein, John Bell and others, about nonlocality and the conceptual issues raised by quantum mechanics, have been rather systematically…
Jean BricmontMar 1, 2017
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The Ancient Astronomy of Easter Island: The Mamari Tablet Tells (Part 2)
The beginning of the calendar record inscribed on the Mamari tablet has been dated to the day of the summer solstice of December 20, 1680 A.D. The moon was not visible earlier at night. Because of a…
Sergei RjabchikovFeb 27, 2017
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