物理学史与哲学

A Hegelian version of the concept of problematic is used to investigate the underlying theoretical unity and structure of Arabic physical science (physics, astronomy and chemistry). A contradictory triad (associated with Platonism,…

This paper avers that science is not demarcated from other disciplines by a specific unique methodology, but by its specific scientific rationality and rational grounds. In this context, the notion and structure of scientific reason are…

Between 1905 and 1907, Einstein first tried to extend the special theory of relativity in such a way so as to explain gravitational phenomena. This was the most natural and simplest path to be taken. These investigations did not fit in with…

The scope of this paper is to discuss the major works that appeared in the period of 1904 to 1913: atomic models proposed by Thomson and Hantaro Nagaoka (1904), Rutherford (1911), and Bohr (1913), and the experimental work that motivated…

The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better conceptual understanding of gauge quantum field theories, such as quantum chromodynamics, by discussing a famous physical limit, the 't Hooft limit, in which the theory concerned often…

We provide a brief biography of seven French astronomers and physicists and of a Russian astronomer from the 19th and 20th centuries. Roger Bouigue (1920-) was the director of Toulouse Observatory in the 1960s. Claude-Louis Mathieu…

Despite the success of modern physics in formulating mathematical theories that can predict the outcome of experiments, we have made remarkably little progress towards answering the most fundamental question of: why is there a universe at…

An ancient solar observatory is composed by thirteen towers lined on a hill of a coastal desert of Peru. This is the Chankillo observatory. Here we discuss it, showing some simulations of the local sun direction. An analysis of the…

This essay provides concise biographical information about eight physicists, astronomers, astrophysicists, and cosmologists from the twentieth century. The portrayed scientists are Hermann Bondi (1919-2005), Charles L. Critchfield…

Key figure of Russian Enlightenment, polymath Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov (1711-1765) had discovered atmosphere of Venus during its transit over the Sun's disc in 1761. This paper contains the first full English translation of his report…

An equation, generally used for solar energy applications, can be applied to archaeoastronomical calculations to determine the day of foundation of ancient towns. The equation is that giving the sunrise amplitude, and, the direction of the…

The paper investigates the spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetries in gauge theories from a philosophical angle, taking into account the fact that the notion of a spontaneously broken local gauge symmetry, though widely employed in…

In 1965 the Nobel Foundation honored Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, and Richard Feynman for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics and the consequences for the physics of elementary particles. In contrast to both of his…

Artificially produced chemical elements heavier than uranium have been known for more than seventy years and the number of superheavy elements continues to grow. Presently 26 transuranic elements are known. This paper examines the earliest…

Very-high energy (VHE) gamma quanta contribute only a minuscule fraction - below one per million - to the flux of cosmic rays. Nevertheless, being neutral particles they are currently the best "messengers" of processes from the…

Raffaello Caverni, a Catholic priest, was a truly lay and anti-establishment intellectual in his opinions both on Darwin and on Galileo. He opposed the mythicization of Galileo, as a rule in Italy after the unification, even though he…

Mach's principle fits into the wider "relational principle", advocating that not only inertia, but also space and time emerge from the interaction of matter. Concepts of a Machian/relational theory are proposed, where inertia and energy are…

Whereas physics in the period from about 1880 to 1910 experienced a steady growth, it was also a revolutionary period in which the foundations of the physical world picture were criticized and reconsidered. Generally speaking, from about…

In his 1948 lecture to the British Interplanetary Society, Olaf Stapledon considered the ultimate purpose of colonising other worlds. Having examined the possible motivations arising from improved scientific knowledge and access to…

The research of life in Universe is a ancient quest that has taken different forms over the centuries. It has given rise to a new science, which is normally referred as Astrobiology. It is interesting to research when this word was used for…