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We analyse the scientific research carried out at the Institute of Physics of the National University of La Plata in the first half of the 20th century, and the cultural and social context in which they were immersed. We focus especially on…
Hilbert's paper on ``The Foundations of Physics (First Communication),'' is now primarily known for its parallel publication of essentially the same gravitational field equations of general relativity which Einstein published in a note on…
The unification of electricity and magnetism achieved by special relativity has remained for decades a model of unification in theoretical physics. We discuss the relationship between electric and magnetic fields from a classical point of…
It is well-known that Einstein got the 1921 Nobel prize not for his theory of relativity, but for his theory of photoelectricity. It is not that well-known that he did not get the prize in 1921. Why not, and when did he get it?
The aim of this article is twofold. First, we shall review and analyse the Neo-Kantian justification for the application of probabilistic concepts in physics that was defended by Hans Reichenbach early in his career, notably in his…
Experimental verification of the theoretical predictions made by Albert Einstein in his paper, published in 1905, on the molecular mechanisms of Brownian motion established the existence of atoms. In the last 100 years discoveries of many…
Ronald Wilfrid Gurney is one of the lesser-known research students of the Cavendish Laboratory in the mid 1920s. Gurney made significant contributions to the application of quantum mechanics to problems related to tunneling of…
A review of the known different methods and results devised to study the two-electron atom problem, appeared in the early years of quantum mechanics, is given, with particular reference to the calculations of the ground state energy of…
In 1931, Dirac advanced a startling prediction about the existence of a new elementary particle, characterized by a magnetic charge of a single polarity: the magnetic monopole. This prediction, that was not based on experimental reasons but…
It is with pleasure and pride that I introduce this special section in honor of Ingram Olkin. This tribute is especially fitting because, among the many profound and far-reaching contributions that he has made to our profession, Ingram…
Though the majority of physicists would probably not support preemptive wars, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction would not exist without their contributions. Einstein's anti-militaristic position has been well-documented and the…
We study the inequality of citations received for different publications of various researchers and Nobel laureates in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Economics using Google Scholar data from 2012 to 2024. Citation distributions are found…
In the 1930s the German physicist Erich Regener (1881-1955) did important work on the measurement of the rate of production of ionisation deep under-water and in the atmosphere. He discovered, along with one of his students, Georg Pfotzer,…
Incomputability as a mathematical notion arose from work of Alan Turing and Alonzo Church in the 1930s. Like Turing himself, it attracted less attention than it deserved beyond the confines of mathematics. Today our experiences in computer…
In 1963, Eugene Paul Wigner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry…
Einstein in 1905, his year of miracles, wrote five papers which mark a watershed between classical physics and modern physics. They dealt with problem of reality of atoms, theory of special relativity which overthrew Newtonian conceptions…
Interstellar travel requires propulsion systems beyond present possibilities and scientists search for new technologies and breakthrough concepts in physics. Frederick E. Alzofon came up with an alternative idea on the origin of the…
The Finnish physicist Gunnar Nordstr\"om developed a competing theory of gravitation to Einstein's 1912-1913 gravitation theory. The equivalence principle was valid in his theory and it also satisfied red shift of the spectral lines from…
100 years ago Einstein discovered $E=mc^2$, the secret energy stored in ordinary mass. $\Delta H = D(H-H)$ is the chemical energy released in chemical bond formation between two H atoms. The failure to recognize the enormously different…
The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox that argues for the incompleteness of quantum mechanics as a description of physical reality has been put to rest by John Bell's famous theorem, which inspired numerous experimental tests and…