Related papers: Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976)
We expand on a recent development by Hardy, in which quantum mechanics is derived from classical probability theory supplemented by a single new axiom, Hardy's Axiom 5. Our scenario involves a `pretend world' with a `pretend' Heisenberg who…
The uncertainty relation formulated by Heisenberg in 1927 describes a trade-off between the error of a measurement of one observable and the disturbance caused on another complementary observable so that their product should be no less than…
The quantum theory of Ur-alternatives of Carl Friedrich von Weizsaecker tries to constitute general quantum theory based on the concept of logical alternatives in time. Based on this interpretation of quantum theory the existence of free…
Gravitation has posed a puzzle and a problem for many decades. Attempts to unify it with other fundamental interactions have failed. These problems and puzzles have been underscored by the likes of Witten and Weinberg. We survey this and…
The physics that underpins modern technology is based on Einstein's theories of relativity and quantum mechanics. Most school students complete their compulsory science education without being taught any of these Einsteinian concepts. Only…
It is well known that the problem of divergence in the physical interpretation of quantum mechanics originating from the uncertainty principle has not yet been resolved. Attempting to clear the constraints and confusion of this situation…
The usual conjectures of quantum measurements approaches, inspired from the traditional interpretation of Heisenberg's ("uncertainty") relations, are proved as being incorrect. A group of reconsidered conjectures and a corresponding new…
After some historical remarks concerning Schroedinger's discovery of wave mechanics, we present a unified formalism for the mathematical description of classical and quantum-mechanical systems, utilizing elements of the theory of operator…
We discuss a less known aspect of Feynman's multifaceted scientific work, centered about his interest in molecular biology, which came out around 1959 and lasted for several years. After a quick historical reconstruction about the birth of…
Commented translation of the paper "Universelle Bedeutung des Wirkungsquantums", published by Jun Ishiwara in German in the Proceedings of Tokyo Mathematico-Physical Society 8 106-116 (1915). In his work, Ishiwara, tenured at Sendai…
Probably the most dramatic historical challenge to scientific realism concerns Arnold Sommerfeld's 1916 derivation of the fine structure energy levels of hydrogen. Not only were his predictions good, he derived exactly the same formula that…
Busch, Lahti and Werner (BLW) have recently criticized the operator approach to the description of quantum errors and disturbances. Their criticisms are justified to the extent that the physical meaning of the operator definitions has not…
I present the reconstruction of the involvement of Karl Popper in the community of physicists concerned with foundations of quantum mechanics, in the 1980s. At that time Popper gave active contribution to the research in physics, of which…
The radical changes in the concepts and approach in Physics at the turn of the Nineteenth century were so deep, that is acknowledged as a revolution. However, in 1970 Thomas Kuhn's careful reconstruction of the researches on the black body…
The concept of an all pervading Aether is age old, and contrary to popular belief, it survived the twentieth century too though with different nuances. Using this concept of a background Quantum Vacuum, the author in 1997 proposed a…
In quantum theory it is generally assumed that there exists a special state called the vacuum state and that this state is a lower bound to the energy. However it has recently been demonstrated that this is not necessarily the case for some…
This article is a brief Retrospective on the life and work of Robert W. Zwanzig, who formulated nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and who passed away in May of this year.
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which imposes intrinsic restrictions on our ability to predict the outcomes of incompatible quantum measurements to arbitrary precision, demonstrates one of the key differences between classical and…
These notes give a mathematical introduction to two seemingly unrelated topics: (i) quantum spin systems and their cycle and loop representations, due to T\'oth and Aizenman-Nachtergaele; (ii) coagulation-fragmentation stochastic processes.…
With each passing year, the young Albert Einstein's achievements in physics in the year 1905 seem to be ever more miraculous. We describe why the centenary of this remarkable year is worthy of celebration.