Related papers: Physicists in times of war
In Europe (e.g., in Italy), and in the States, the opinion is widely spreading that the negative consequences of modern progress are the fault of "Science". A lively debate on this topic took place among the famous writer Leonardo Sciascia…
Science has traditionally played an important role in sharing knowledge among people. Particle Physics, with its large experiments, has shown that one not only can share the knowledge among different cultures, but that one can also work…
In the 60s of the last century the few courses of History of physics in Physics degree were held by scholars who, apart from a few exceptions, did not have a specific research background in the field. Some activities, books, social…
I discuss the impact of computer progress on nuclear war policy, both by enabling more accurate nuclear winter simulations and by affecting the probability of war starting accidentally. I argue that from a cosmic perspective, humanity's…
Mathematics and its relation to the physical universe have been the topic of speculation since the days of Pythagoras. Several different views of the nature of mathematics have been considered: Realism - mathematics exists and is…
This article shows the importance that has had the scientific research, the technological development and the innovation processes in increasing the lethality of the available weapons during the last century. A set of initiatives promoted…
We examine the construction of electromagnetism in its current form, and in an alternative form, from a point of view that combines a minimal realism with strict demands of reason that we first introduce. We follow the historical…
Einstein initially objected to the probabilistic aspect of quantum mechanics - the idea that God is playing at dice. Later he changed his ground, and focussed instead on the point that the Copenhagen Interpretation leads to what Einstein…
Defining interdisciplinary physics today requires first a reformulation of what is physics today, which in turn calls for clarifying what makes a physicist. This assessment results from my forty year journey arguing and fighting to build…
It is a quite common view among people, that are not aware of the developments in modern physics, that it is part of human nature to substitute religious faith in places where there is no knowledge. Therefore, an increase in knowledge would…
Without a doubt many problems in physics arise as a consequence of our philosophical conception of the world. In this contribution however we endeavor to alleviate this scenario by putting forward a philosophical approach under which some…
We argue against current proposals concerning the non-existence of time. We point out that a large number of these proposals rely, at least implicitly, on the assumption of `closure' (or `partial closure') of the laws of Physics. I.e. the…
An overview of the experimental and observational status in gravitational physics is given, both for the known tests of general relativity and Newtonian gravity, but also for the increasing number of results where these theories run into…
The European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPP) - 2026 update is taking place in a turbulent international climate. Many of the norms that have governed relations between states for decades are being broken or challenged. The future…
According to physicist David Mermin, the science wars was a series of exchanges between scientists and "sociologists, historians, and literary critics" whom the scientists thought to be "ludicrously ignorant of science, making all kinds of…
A brief introduction to light front techniques is presented. This is followed by a review of recent attempts to perform realistic, relativistic nuclear physics with those techniques.
For several decades there has been no breakthrough in fundamental physics as revolutionary as relativity and quantum physics despite the amazing advancement of applied physics and technology. By discussing several examples of what physics…
Despite its amazing quantitative successes and contributions to revolutionary technologies, physics currently faces many unsolved mysteries ranging from the meaning of quantum mechanics to the nature of the dark energy that will determine…
Following a courageous denunciation by Barton Richter in {\it Physics Today,} November 2006, of contemporary particle physics as being "theological speculations," we present insufficiencies of special relativity, quantum mechanics,…
One of the most important philosophers in history, the German Friedrich Nietzsche, is almost ignored by physicists. This author who declared the death of God in the 19th century was a science enthusiast, especially in the second period of…