Related papers: Astrophysical Paradoxes, long version
Since I first became enthralled with physics as a teenager, I've been intrigued by the philosophical aspects of the discipline. As I approached the end of my career as an experimental physicist and observational astronomer (I'm now…
Black hole firewall paradox is an inconsistency between four postulates in black hole physics: (1) the unitary evolution in quantum systems, (2) application of the semi-classical field theory in low curvature backgrounds, (3) statistical…
Astrophysical discs are often warped, that is, their orbital planes change with radius. This occurs whenever there is a non-axisymmetric force acting on the disc, for example the Lense-Thirring precession induced by a misaligned spinning…
Toposes can be pictured as mathematical universes. Besides the standard topos, in which most of mathematics unfolds, there is a colorful host of alternate toposes in which mathematics plays out slightly differently. For instance, there are…
The first and most compelling evidence of the universe's expansion was, and continues to be, the observed redshift of spectra from distant objects. This paper plays "devil's advocate" by providing an alternative explanation with elementary…
Some possible (re)sources of indeterminism and randomness encountered in physics are enumerated. These gaps in the physical laws, if they exist, could possibly be exploited for dualistic interfaces. We also speculate that physical laws and…
The well-defined but intricate course of time evolution exhibited by many naturally occurring phenomena suggests some source of dynamic order sustaining it. In spite of its obviousness as a problem, it has remained absent from the…
In physics, there is the prevailing intuition that we are part of a unique external world, and that the goal of physics is to understand and describe this world. This assumption of the fundamentality of objective reality is often seen as a…
This short note introduces a formal system of truth and paradoxicality, outlining the main motivation, and proving its $\omega$-consistency. The system is called TP, for 'Truth and Paradoxicality'.
Despite the success of modern physics in formulating mathematical theories that can predict the outcome of experiments, we have made remarkably little progress towards answering the most fundamental question of: why is there a universe at…
Is there a Hierarchy Problem? If so, what, exactly, is the problem? Almost every theorist has a personal answer to these questions. In this article, I give my answers. I will explain that the Hierarchy Problem is not a formal problem but…
Several examples are used to illustrate how we deal cavalierly with infinities and unphysical systems in physics. Upon examining these examples in the context of infinities from Cantor's theory of transfinite numbers, the only known…
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…
Multiverse scenarios in cosmology assume that other universes exist "beyond" our own universe. They are an exciting challenge both for empirical and theoretical research as well as for philosophy of science. They could be necessary to…
In the paper, using the language of spin-half particles, Hardy's paradox is examined within different semantics: a partial one, a many-valued one, and one defined as a set of weak values of projection operators. As it is shown in this…
Theories proposing a varying speed of light have recently been widely promoted under the claim that they offer an alternative way of solving the standard cosmological problems. Recent observational hints that the fine structure constant may…
Almost all theories of physics have expressed physical laws by means of differential equations. One can ask: why differential equations? What is special about them? This article addresses these questions and is presented as an inquiry-based…
A perplexing problem in understanding physical reality is why the universe seems comprehensible, and correspondingly why there should exist physical systems capable of comprehending it. In this essay I explore the possibility that rather…
Linear differential equations of arbitrary order with polynomial coefficients are considered. Specifically, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of polynomial solutions of a given degree are obtained for these equations. An…
Revolutionary advances in both theory and technology have launched cosmology into its most exciting period of discovery yet. Unanticipated components of the universe have been identified, promising ideas for understanding the basic features…