History and Philosophy of Physics
This is a translation into English of my Masters thesis (hovedoppgave) from 1991. The main topic of the thesis is the relation between fundamental physics and philosophy, and a discussion of several possible ontologies of quantum field…
We discuss Einstein's knowledge of projective geometry. We show that two pages of Einstein's Scratch Notebook from around 1912 with geometrical sketches can directly be associated with similar sketches in manuscript pages dating from his…
A modified version of relational quantum mechanics is developed based on the three following ideas. An observer can develop an internally consistent description of the universe but it will, of necessity, differ in particulars from the…
The only acceptable reason why measurements are irreversible and outcomes definite is the intrinsic definiteness and irreversibility of human sensory experience. While QBists deserve credit for their spirited defense of this position, Niels…
The paper, drawing on the example of simulation codes used in nuclear physics and high-energy physics, seeks to highlight the ethical implications of discontinuing support for simulation codes and the loss of knowledge embodied in them.…
I show how Hamilton's philosophical commitments led him to a causal interpretation of classical mechanics. I argue that Hamilton's metaphysics of causation was injected into his dynamics by way of a causal interpretation of force. I then…
In this paper I bring the recent philosophical literature on theoretical equivalence to bear on dualities in physics. Focusing on electromagnetic duality, which is a simple example of S-duality in string theory, I will show that the duality…
Recent work takes both philosophical and scientific progress to consist in acquiring factive epistemic states such as knowledge. However, much of this work leaves unclear what entity is the subject of these epistemic states. Furthermore, by…
Why is the universe comprehensible? How is it that we can come to know its regularities well-enough to exploit them for our own gain? In this essay I argue that the nature of our comprehension lies in the mutually agreed upon methodology we…
The first time one of us (G.P.) encountered Earle was in Summer 1966, when she was directed to study Earle's papers on radiative corrections to quasi-elastic electron scattering. The suggestion had come from Bruno Touschek, at the time head…
This work reviews the understanding of the direction of time introduced by Hans Reichenbach, including the fundamental relation of the perceived flow of time to the second law of thermodynamics (i.e. the Boltzmann time hypothesis), and the…
It is described how quantum field theory went from a theory for calculating the properties of stationary states, in the mold of quantum mechanics, to the scattering-focused theory we know today. This development is located as originating in…
Solar eclipses play an important role in the history of astronomy because their observation allowed astrophysics to expand. The eclipse of August 30th, 1905 is particularly interesting since the line of totality passes through Spain and…
Astronomers are the surveyors of the sky. They have always dedicated much time and resources to determining the scale of distances in the universe. Today, the Hubble constant; yesterday, the solar parallar. The following account, attributed…
Joseph Devaux, who held a position of assistant-meteorologist at Pic du Midi Observatory, had an outstanding career. He devoted his life to the Pic and to scientific research. A pioneer of the study of snow and glaciers, he also pursued…
In an article written by Giulio Magli on the orientation of the Roman towns, Bononia, the Roman Bologna, is given as a specific example to support Magli's thesis on the existence of preferred solar alignments of the urban layout. Assuming…
Many attempts have been made to provide Quantum Field Theory with conceptually clear and mathematically rigorous foundations; remarkable examples are the Bohmian and the algebraic perspectives respectively. In this essay we introduce the…
I show that Aristotelian physics is a correct and non-intuitive approximation of Newtonian physics in the suitable domain (motion in fluids), in the same technical sense in which Newton theory is an approximation of Einstein's theory.…
We review three broadly geometrodynamical---and in part, Machian or relational---projects, from the perspective of spacetime functionalism. We show how all three are examples of functionalist reduction of the type that was advocated by D.…
In 1844, the Austrian mineralogist Wilhelm von Haidinger reported he could see the polarization of light with the naked eye. It appears as a faint, blurry, transient, yellow hourglass shape superimposed on whatever one looks at. It is now…