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History and Philosophy of Physics papers — page 93

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Analysis of the latitudinal data of Eratosthenes and Hipparchus
The handed down latitudinal data ascribed to Eratosthenes and Hipparchus are composed and each tested for consistency by means of adjustment theory. For detected inconsistencies new explanations are…
Christian MarxDec 9, 2014
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Von Neumann Was Not a Quantum Bayesian
Wikipedia has claimed for over three years now that John von Neumann was the "first quantum Bayesian." In context, this reads as stating that von Neumann inaugurated QBism, the approach to…
Blake C. StaceyDec 7, 2014
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Modellierungskonzepte der Synergetik und der Theorie der Selbstorganisation
Mnay models situated in the current research landscape of modelling and simulating social processes have roots in physics. This is visible in the name of specialties as Econophysics or Sociophysics.…
Werner Ebeling, Andrea ScharnhorstDec 7, 2014
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Did Einstein "Nostrify" Hilbert's Final Form of the Field Equations for General Relativity?
Einstein's biographer Albrecht Fölsing explained: Einstein presented his field equations on November 25, 1915, but six days earlier, on November 20, Hilbert had derived the identical field…
Galina WeinsteinDec 4, 2014
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Memories of Julian Schwinger
The career and accomplishments of Julian Schwinger, who shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1965, have been reviewed in numerous books and articles. For this reason these Memories, which seek to…
Edward GerjuoyDec 2, 2014
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Einstein and the Formal Equivalence of Mass and Energy
This is a brief look at how Einstein explored formal symmetries between quantized matter and quantized radiation between 1903 and 1925. Specifically he employed thermodynamic comparisons between the…
Paul A. KlevgardDec 1, 2014
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Regarding the "Hole Argument"
I argue that the Hole Argument is based on a misleading use of the mathematical formalism of general relativity. If one is attentive to mathematical practice, I will argue, the Hole Argument is…
James Owen WeatherallNov 30, 2014
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Some Personal Reflections on Quantum Non-locality and the Contributions of John Bell
I present the background of the Bohm approach that led John Bell to a study of quantum non-locality from which his famous inequalities emerged. I recall the early experiments done at Birkbeck with an…
B. J. HileyNov 28, 2014
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The physics and metaphysics of primitive stuff
The paper sets out a primitive ontology of the natural world in terms of primitive stuff, that is, stuff that has as such no physical properties at all, but that is not a bare substratum either,…
Michael Esfeld, Dustin Lazarovici, Vincent Lam et al.Nov 27, 2014
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Einstein, Schwarzschild, the Perihelion Motion of Mercury and the Rotating Disk Story
On November 18, 1915 Einstein reported to the Prussian Academy that the perihelion motion of Mercury is explained by his new General Theory of Relativity: Einstein found approximate solutions to his…
Galina WeinsteinNov 26, 2014
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Kenneth Geddes Wilson (1936-2013)
Wilson was a physicist who changed both the substance and style of theoretical science.
Leo P. KadanoffNov 24, 2014
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Erich Regener and the maximum in ionisation of the atmosphere
In the 1930s the German physicist Erich Regener (1881-1955) did important work on the measurement of the rate of production of ionisation deep under-water and in the atmosphere. He discovered, along…
P. Carlson, A. A. WatsonNov 23, 2014
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Are Newtonian Gravitation and Geometrized Newtonian Gravitation Theoretically Equivalent?
I argue that a criterion of theoretical equivalence due to Clark Glymour [Nous 11(3), 227-251 (1977)] does not capture an important sense in which two theories may be equivalent. I then motivate and…
James Owen WeatherallNov 21, 2014
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John Bell and the Nature of the Quantum World
I present my encounter with John Bell at CERN, our collaboration and joint work in particle physics. I also will recall our quantum debates and give my personal view on Bell's fundamental work on…
Reinhold A. BertlmannNov 18, 2014
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A shark in the stars: astronomy and culture in the Torres Strait
Technology has, without doubt, expanded our understanding of space. The Voyager 1 space probe is on the brink of leaving our solar system. Massive telescopes have discovered blasts of fast radio…
Duane W. HamacherNov 17, 2014
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Continuity and boundary conditions in thermodynamics: From Carnot's efficiency to efficiencies at maximum power
[...] By the beginning of the 20th century, the principles of thermodynamics were summarized into the so-called four laws, which were, as it turns out, definitive negative answers to the doomed…
Henni Ouerdane, Yann Apertet, Christophe Goupil et al.Nov 16, 2014
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Goedel's other legacy and the imperative of a self-reflective science
The Goedelian approach is discussed as a prime example of a science towards the origins. While mere selfreferential objectification locks in to its own byproducts, self-releasing objectification…
Vasileios Basios, Emilios BouratinosNov 13, 2014
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Fiber Bundles, Yang-Mills Theory, and General Relativity
I articulate and discuss a geometrical interpretation of Yang-Mills theory. Analogies and disanalogies between Yang-Mills theory and general relativity are also considered.
James Owen WeatherallNov 12, 2014
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A review of Voigt's transformations in the framework of special relativity
In 1887 Woldemar Voigt published the paper "On Doppler's Principle," in which he demanded covariance to the homogeneous wave equation in inertial reference frames, assumed the invariance…
Ricardo HerasNov 10, 2014
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The quest for collapsed/frozen stars in single-line spectroscopic binary systems
Black holes are now commonplace, among the stars, in Galactic centers, and perhaps other places. But within living memory, their very existence was doubted by many, and few chose to look for them.…
Virginia TrimbleNov 5, 2014
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John Stuart Bell: recollections of a great scientist and a great man
This contribution to the book in honour of J.S. Bell will probably differ from the remaining ones, in particular since only a part of it will be devoted to specific technical arguments. In fact I…
GianCarlo GhirardiNov 4, 2014
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The metaphysics of laws: dispositionalism vs. primitivism
The paper compares dispositionalism about laws of nature with primitivism. It argues that while the distinction between these two positions can be drawn in a clear-cut manner in classical mechanics,…
Mauro Dorato, Michael EsfeldNov 3, 2014
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How I got to work with Feynman on the covariant quark model
In the period 1968 - 1974 I was a graduate student and then a postdoc at Caltech and was involved with the developments of the quark and parton models. Most of this time I worked in close contact…
Finn RavndalNov 3, 2014
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Ralph A. Alpher, George Antonovich Gamow, and the Prediction of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
The first prediction of the existence of "relict radiation" or radiation remaining from the "Big Bang" was made in 1948. This derived from the seminal dissertation work of Ralph A.…
Victor S. AlpherNov 1, 2014
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The Barolo Palace: medieval astronomy in the streets of Buenos Aires
Cultural heritage relating to the sky in the form of sundials, old observatories and the like, are commonly found in many cities in the Old World, but rarely in the New. This paper examines…
Alejandro GanguiOct 23, 2014
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