Related papers: Inferential vs. Dynamical Conceptions of Physics

Quantum mechanics---the theory describing the fundamental workings of nature---is famously counterintuitive: it predicts that a particle can be in two places at the same time, and that two remote particles can be inextricably and…

On the surface, behavioural science and physics seem to be two disparate fields of research. However, a closer examination of problems solved by them reveals that they are uniquely related to one another. Exemplified by the theories of…

We propose a reformulation of quantum mechanics in which the distinction between definite and indefinite becomes the fundamental primitive. Inspired by suggestions of Heisenberg, Schrodinger and Dyson that the past can't be described in…

Influence theory is a foundational theory of physics that is not based on traditional empirically defined concepts, such as positions in space and time, mass, energy, or momentum. Instead, the aim is to derive these concepts, and their…

It is argued that a realistic interpretation of quantum mechanics is possible and useful. Current interpretations, from Copenhagen to many worlds are critically revisited. The difficulties for intuitive models of quantum physics are pointed…

We review of the interface between (theoretical) physics and information for non-experts. The origin of information as related to the notion of entropy is described, first in the context of thermodynamics then in the context of statistical…

Both the topics of entanglement and particle statistics have aroused enormous research interest since the advent of quantum mechanics. Using two pairs of entangled particles we show that indistinguishability enforces a transfer of…

Introductory undergraduate courses in classical physics stress a perspective that can be characterized as realist; from this perspective, all physical properties of a classical system can be simultaneously specified and thus determined at…

The perspectives of introductory classical physics students can often negatively influence how those students later interpret quantum phenomena when taking an introductory course in modern physics. A detailed exploration of student…

We observe that quantum indistinguishability is a dynamical effect dependent on measurement duration. We propose a quantitative criterion for observing indistinguishability in quantum fluids and its implications including quantum statistics…

The intuitive reasoning of physicists in conditions of uncertainty is closer to the Bayesian approach than to the frequentist ideas taught at University and which are considered the reference framework for handling statistical problems. The…

The paper attempts to convince that the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics does not contradict philosophical realism by throwing light onto certain properties of quantum systems that seem to have escaped attention as yet. The…

We present a reformulation of quantum mechanics in terms of probability measures and functions on a general classical sample space and in particular in terms of probability densities and functions on phase space. The basis of our proceeding…

In almost every scientific field, an experiment involves collecting data and then analysing it. The analysis stage will often consist in trying to extract some physical parameter and estimating its uncertainty; this is known as Parameter…

Some relations between physics and finitary and infinitary mathematics are explored in the context of a many-minds interpretation of quantum theory. The analogy between mathematical ``existence'' and physical ``existence'' is considered…

The one particle quantum mechanics is considered in the frame of a N-body classical kinetics in the phase space. Within this framework, the scenario of a subquantum structure for the quantum particle, emerges naturally, providing an…

Along with weaving together observations, experiments, and theoretical constructs into a coherent mesh of understanding of the world around us, physics over its past five centuries has continuously refined the base concepts on which the…

Although not as wide, and popular, as that of quantum mechanics, the investigation of fundamental aspects of statistical mechanics constitutes an important research field in the building of modern physics. Besides the interest for itself,…

A new realist interpretation of quantum mechanics is introduced. Quantum systems are shown to have two kinds of properties: the usual ones described by values of quantum observables, which are called extrinsic, and those that can be…

We show that the main difference between classical and quantum systems can be understood in terms of information entropy. Classical systems can be considered the ones where the internal dynamics can be known with arbitrary precision while…