物理学史与哲学

I had the marvelous good fortune to be Ken Wilson's graduate student at the Physics Department, Cornell University, from 1972 to 1976. In this article, I present some recollections of how this came about, my interactions with Ken, and…

In quantum gravity space and time lose their status as fundamental parts of the physical reality. However, according to Kant, space and time are the a priori conditions of our experience. Does Kantian characterization of these notions give…

The article presents the results of a study of petroglyphs on a unique stone slab discovered near the kurgan 1 of the kurgan field Varvarinsky I (Rostov Oblast, Russia). During the study was done comparing it with plates of Srubna burials…

The article presents the results of the study of petroglyphs on a unique stone slab discovered near the kurgan 1 of the kurgan field Varvarinsky I (Rostov Oblast, Russia). Analysis of features of the location and style of petroglyph "tree"…

In this article, halfway between popularized exposition and historical account, some key moments in the development of atomic theory in its beginnings are discussed. In particular, the events and the major discoveries that have highlighted…

The Astronomy Genealogy Project ("AstroGen"), a project of the Historical Astronomy Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), will soon appear on the AAS website. Ultimately, it will list the world's astronomers with their…

Previously, the most prominent explanation for the Star of Bethlehem was to identify one of many astronomical events in the sky as being the inspiration for the trip of the Magi. However, all the astronomical answers have detailed…

The marvelous Les Houches summer school of 1970 bore the trademark of Raymond Stora.

The essay is an attempt to re-create the wonderful scientific atmosphere that emerged after the basic BCS ideas first arrived in Russia in 1957. It summarizes the most significant contributions to the microscopic theory of superconductivity…

Randomness is an unavoidable notion in discussing quantum physics, and this may trigger the curiosity to know more of its cultural history. This text is an invitation to explore the position on the matter of Thomas Aquinas, one of the most…

Classes started in the newly established Physics Department of Calcutta University Science College in 1916. Raman, Bose and Saha were three young members of the small physics faculty consisting of barely half a dozen faculty members. Within…

I give a short commentary on a seminal article by T W B Kibble in 1976, "Topology of cosmic domains and strings".

This paper celebrates the remarkable life, science and legacy of Abb\'e Georges Lema\^itre, the Belgian cleric and professor of physics; he was the architect of the fireworks model for the origin of the universe. He died half a century ago,…

This work is a conceptual analysis of certain recent developments in the mathematical foundations of Classical and Quantum Mechanics which have allowed to formulate both theories in a common language. From the algebraic point of view, the…

The Stern-Gerlach-Experiment (SGE) of 1922 is a seminal benchmark experiment of quantum physics providing evidence for several fundamental properties of quantum systems. Based on today's knowledge we illustrate the different benchmark…

The genesis of the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) after German re-unification as described here, shows that the history of the founding of the institute is not as simplistic as claimed e.g., in…

For over a century Minkowskian spacetime has dominated discussions of space contraction and time dilation within special relativity. Brown and Pooley have called into question both the assumptions of Minkowski and the effects his presumed…

Even though quantum mechanics has existed for almost 100 years, questions concerning the foundation and interpretation of the theory still remain. These issues have gathered more attention in recent years, but does this mean that physicists…

The early development of conflicting theories about the microscopic mechanism of High Temperature Superconductivity is described. The biographical roots of this diversity are stressed, as well as its subjective/objective roots. This study…

The Quantum Hall Effects offer a rich variety of theoretical and experimental advances. They provide interesting insights on such topics as complementarity, gauge invariance, strong interactions, emergence of new theoretical concepts. This…