Certainty and Uncertainty in the Practice of Science: Electrons, Muons, and Taus
History and Philosophy of Physics
2007-05-23 v2
Abstract
During the past one hundred years three related elementary particles - the electron, the muon, and the tau - were discovered by very different scientific techniques. The author, who received the Wolf Prize and the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the tau, uses this history to discuss certainty and uncertainty in the practice of science. While the emphasis is on the practice of scientific research, the paper also explains for the non-physicist some basic ideas in elementary particle science.
Cite
@article{arxiv.physics/9901037,
title = {Certainty and Uncertainty in the Practice of Science: Electrons, Muons, and Taus},
author = {M. L. Perl},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/9901037},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
36 pages, 14 figures, to be published in Science at the Turn of the Millenium; removal of incorrect equations