Related papers: On Boltzmann's genius and thermodynamics
Recently, we have presented some simple arguments supporting the existence of certain complementarity between thermodynamic quantities of temperature and energy, an idea suggested by Bohr and Heinsenberg in the early days of Quantum…
L. E. Ballentine's remarks in Physics Today about the QBist interpretation of quantum mechanics are generally wide of the mark.
This work explores Boltzmann's time hypothesis, which associates the perceived direction of "time flow" with the second law of thermodynamics. We discuss mechanisms that can be responsible for the action of the second law, for directional…
This is a short overview of the influence of mathematicians and their ideas on the creative contribution of Mikhailo Lomonosov on the occasion of the tercentenary of his birth.
Review/essay of Ananyo Bhattacharya, The Man from the Future: The Visionary Life of John von Neumann.
This paper is an introduction to the von Neumann entropy in a historic approach. Von Neumann's gedanken experiment is repeated, which led him to the formula of thermodynamic entropy of a statistical operator. In the analysis of his ideas we…
In 1910 Einstein published a crucial aspect of his understanding of Boltzmann entropy. He essentially argued that the likelihood function of any system composed by two probabilistically independent subsystems {\it ought} to be factorizable…
This article, dedicated, with admiration to Reuben Hersh, for his forthcoming 90th birthday, argues that mathematics today is not yet a science, but that it is high time that it should become one.
Inspired by philosophical ideas of Boltzmann, which are briefly recalled, we provide strong support for the possibility and convenience of a realistic world picture, properly nuanced. The arguments have consequences for the interpretation…
Recent intriguing discussion of heat death by Kutrovatz is critically examined. It is shown that there exists another way of answering the heat death puzzle, already present in the ancient philosophical tradition. This alternative route…
This article describes the third law of thermodynamics. This law is often poorly known and is often decried, or even considered optional and irrelevant to describe weather and climate phenomena. This, however, is inaccurate and contrary to…
This is a prelude to a book which I intend to publish. This paper describes my temporary thoughts on Einstein's pathway to the special theory of relativity. See my papers on my thoughts on Einstein's pathway to his general theory of…
The cosmological constant was proposed 100 years ago in order to make the model of static Universe, imagined then by most scientists, possible. Today it is the main candidate for the physical essence causing the observed accelerated…
Following the paper of J.D. Jackson [arXiv:0708.4249] on a false attribution of discoveries, equations, and methods [Am. J. Phys. 76, 704-719 (2008)] I consider examples, in which some of independent discoverers are forgotten, and in other…
In 1965 the Nobel Foundation honored Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, and Richard Feynman for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics and the consequences for the physics of elementary particles. In contrast to both of his…
The Dulong-Petit limiting law for the specific heats of solids, one of the first general results in thermodynamics, has provided Mendeleev with a powerful tool for devising the periodic table and gave an important support to Boltzmann's…
Classical statistical mechanics of macroscopic systems in equilibrium is based on Boltzmann's principle. Tsallis has proposed a generalization of Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics. Its relation to dynamics and nonextensivity of statistical systems…
The reversibility and recurrence paradoxes are key issues that have been left unsolved in researches on the foundation of thermodynamics since the 19th century. This article shows that (1) the reversibility paradox can be overcome if we pay…
This article presents a brief review of some historical and philosophical aspects of Einstein's 1917 paper 'Cosmological Considerations in the General Theory of Relativity', a landmark work that denoted the starting point of modern…
Leo Breiman was a highly creative, influential researcher with a down-to-earth personal style and an insistence on working on important real world problems and producing useful solutions. This paper is a short review of Breiman's extensive…