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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 77

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Fifty years of cosmological particle creation
In the early sixties Leonard Parker discovered that the expansion of the universe can create particles out of the vacuum, opening a new and fruitfull field in physics. We give a historical review in…
Leonard Parker, Jose Navarro-SalasFeb 23, 2017
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Emergence and Reductionism: an awkward Baconian alliance
This article discusses the relationship between emergence and reductionism from the perspective of a condensed matter physicist. Reductionism and emergence play an intertwined role in the everyday…
Piers ColemanFeb 22, 2017
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The Guiding Influence of Stanley Mandelstam, from S-Matrix Theory to String Theory
The guiding influence of some of Stanley Mandelstam's key contributions to the development of theoretical high energy physics is discussed, from the motivation for the study of the analytic…
Peter GoddardFeb 20, 2017
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Fundamental Theories and Epistemic Shifts: Can History of Science Serve as a Guide?
The present discussion concerning certain fundamental physical theories (such as string theory and multiverse cosmology) has reopened the demarcation problem between science and non-science. While…
Helge KraghFeb 18, 2017
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Measure of the Heart: Santorio Santorio and the Pulsilogium
In 1626, the Venetian physician Santorio Santorio published the details of his pulsilogium, a stop clock that could accurately measure one's pulse rate. He applied Galileo Galilei's insights…
Richard de Grijs, Daniel VuillerminFeb 17, 2017
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A Life in Statistical Mechanics. Part 1: From Chedar in Taceva, to Yeshiva University in New York
This is the first part of an oral history interview on the lifelong involvement of Joel Lebowitz in the development of statistical mechanics. Here the covered topics include the formative years,…
Joel Lebowitz, Luisa BonolisFeb 15, 2017
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Astronomy of Cholanaikkan tribe of Kerala
Cholanaikkans are a diminishing tribe of India. With a population of less than 200 members, this tribe living in the reserved forests about 80 km from Kozhikode, it is one of the most isolated…
M N Vahia, V S Ramachandran, Jayant Gangopadhyay et al.Feb 14, 2017
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Analytical history
The purpose of this note is to explain what is "analytical history", a modular and testable analysis of historical events introduced in a book published in 2002 (Roehner and Syme 2002).…
Bertrand M. RoehnerFeb 10, 2017
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Beauty and Physics: 13 Important Contributions of Chen Ning Yang
In 2012, Chen Ning Yang received a 90th birthday gift in the form of a black cube inscribed with his 13 most important contributions, which cover four major areas of physics: statistical mechanics,…
Yu ShiFeb 7, 2017
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Conservation, Inertia, and Spacetime Geometry
As Harvey Brown emphasizes in his book Physical Relativity, inertial motion in general relativity is best understood as a theorem, and not a postulate. Here I discuss the status of the…
James Owen WeatherallFeb 6, 2017
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Reply to: "TOV or OV? The Whole Story"
We argued previously that the well-known equation for hydrostatic equilibrium in a static spherically symmetric spacetime supported by an isotropic perfect fluid should be called the…
İbrahim SemizFeb 5, 2017
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Maxwell and the normal distribution: A colored story of probability, independence, and tendency toward equilibrium
We investigate Maxwell's attempt to justify the mathematical assumptions behind his 1860 Proposition IV according to which the velocity components of colliding particles follow the normal…
Balázs GyenisFeb 5, 2017
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The Significance of Non-Empirical Confirmation in Fundamental Physics
In the absence of empirical confirmation, scientists may judge a theory's chances of being viable based on a wide range of arguments. The paper argues that such arguments can differ substantially…
Richard DawidFeb 3, 2017
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Genesis of Karl Popper's EPR-Like Experiment and its Resonance amongst the Physics Community in the 1980s
I present the reconstruction of the involvement of Karl Popper in the community of physicists concerned with foundations of quantum mechanics, in the 1980s. At that time Popper gave active…
Flavio Del SantoJan 31, 2017
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Einstein's 1917 Static Model of the Universe: A Centennial Review
We present a historical review of Einstein's 1917 paper 'Cosmological Considerations in the General Theory of Relativity' to mark the centenary of a key work that set the foundations of…
Cormac O'Raifeartaigh, Michael O'Keeffe, Werner Nahm et al.Jan 25, 2017
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The conception of photons
In the year 1900 Max Planck was led by experimental observations to propose a strange formula for the intensity as a function of frequency for light emitted by a cavity. It relied on peculiar…
Urjit A. YajnikJan 24, 2017
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Particles, Cutoffs and Inequivalent Representations. Fraser andWallace on Quantum Field Theory
We critically review the recent debate between Doreen Fraser and David Wallace on the interpretation of quantum field theory, with the aim of identifying where the core of the disagreement lies. We…
Matthias Egg, Vincent Lam, Andrea OldofrediJan 23, 2017
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The role of cosmology in modern physics
Subject of this article is the relationship between modern cosmology and fundamental physics, in particular general relativity as a theory of gravity on one side, together with its unique application…
Bjoern Malte SchaeferJan 16, 2017
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An attempt to physical science basis of climate changes in early Seventeenth century and the influence the Little Ice Age in south Italy
In 1615 Paolo A. Foscarini, a Carmelite monk lived in a monastery of south Italy near Cosenza (Calabria), published a Trattato which, at variance to what was common at the time, has not been written…
V. Carbone, L. Parisoli, R. Cirino et al.Jan 15, 2017
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Supergravity and its Legacy
A personal recollection of events that preceded the construction of Supergravity and of some subsequent developments.
S. FerraraJan 12, 2017
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The Reception of the Copernican Revolution Among Provençal Humanists of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
We discuss the reception of Copernican astronomy by the Provençal humanists of the XVIth-XVIIth centuries, beginning with Michel de Montaigne who was the first to recognize the potential scientific…
Jean-Pierre LuminetJan 11, 2017
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Recovery of a rare Melloni's optical bench built in Palermo during the "belle époque" (Recupero di un raro banco ottico del Melloni costruito nella Palermo della "belle époque")
In the article, we will report on the recovery of a Melloni's optical bench built at the end of 1800 by the "macchinista" Filippo Caliri in the "belle époque" of Palermo. A…
Aurelio Agliolo Gallitto, Salvatore Licata, Filippo Mirabello et al.Jan 7, 2017
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The Diffuse Light of the Universe - On the microwave background before and after its discovery: open questions
In 1965, the discovery of a new type of uniform radiation, located between radiowaves and infrared light, was accidental. Known today as Cosmic Microwave background (CMB), this diffuse radiation is…
Jean-Marc Bonnet-BidaudJan 3, 2017
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Don't choose theories: Normative inductive reasoning and the status of physical theories
Evaluating theories in physics used to be easy. Our theories provided very distinct predictions. Experimental accuracy was so small that worrying about epistemological problems was not necessary.…
André C. R. MartinsJan 1, 2017
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Ken Wilson - A Tribute: Some recollections and a few thoughts on education
I had the marvelous good fortune to be Ken Wilson's graduate student at the Physics Department, Cornell University, from 1972 to 1976. In this article, I present some recollections of how this…
H. R. KrishnamurthyDec 31, 2016
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