物理学史与哲学

On 22 September 2023 the inauguration of the "Stachelsch\"utzenhaus" at Basel's Petersplatz (St. Peter's Square) as an EPS Historic Site was hosted by the University of Basel. In the following article we will focus first on Daniel…

We discuss the challenges that the standard (Humean and non-Humean) accounts of laws face within the framework of quantum gravity where space and time may not be fundamental. This paper identifies core (meta)physical features that cut…

The early history of string theory is marked by a shift from strong interaction physics to quantum gravity. The first string models and associated theoretical framework were formulated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the context of the…

Among the various attempts to formulate a theory of quantum gravity, a class of approaches suggests that spacetime, as modeled by general relativity, is destined to fade away. A major issue becomes then to identify which structures may…

This article, the third in a series about the Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765), covers the first decade of his research at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, from his return from an educational his trip abroad in 1741,…

We consider the angle in mathematics and arrive at a conclusion that there are two concepts on the issue. One is a descriptive geometrical one, while the other is from functional analysis. They are somewhat different, allow for different…

In this note, we discuss a historical point regarding Schr\"odinger's discovery of the famous quantum wave equation in 1926 following de Broglie's fundamental works published in 1923-1925 regarding the introduction of matter waves. Drawing…

In the Occhialini-Dilworth Archives of the University of Milan are preserved four typescripts by E. Amaldi, dealing with F.G. Houtermans, German physicist, who fled to the USSR to escape the Nazis. During a Stalinist purge he was arrested.…

The Milky Way's name and role in ancient Egyptian culture remain unclear. One suggestion is that the Milky Way may have been a celestial depiction of the sky goddess Nut. In this work, I test this association using an interdisciplinary…

An English (2024) translation by P. Marquet of 3 German papers about "Die Quantenhypothese f\"ur Molekeln mit mehreren Freiheitsgraden (The quantum hypothesis for molecules with multiple degrees of freedom)" and "Bemerkung \"uber die…

This is an English (annotated) translation of the German paper by Max Planck (1916) "On the absolute entropy of monatomic bodies" (\"Uber die absolute Entropie einatomiger K\"orper).

The growing interaction between traditional knowledge and formal sciences emerges as a relevant field of research. In this perspective, the aim of this article is to investigate the intersections between Physics and traditional knowledge in…

As is well known, Paul Drude put forward the very first quantitative theory of electrical conduction in metals in 1900. He could successfully account for the Wiedemann-Franz law which states that the ratio of thermal to electrical…

This paper addresses the central question of what a coherent concept of probability might look like that would do justice to both classical probability theory, axiomatized by Kolmogorov, and quantum theory. At a time when quanta are…

The atomic bomb uses fission of heavy elements to produce a large amount of energy. It was designed and deployed during World War II by the United States military. The first test of an atomic bomb occurred in July of 1945 in New Mexico and…

Starting from the perspective of reports published in Brazilian newspapers at the time, as well as letters exchanged between scientists who worked in Brazil and North American colleagues and documents from the symposium on cosmic rays, a…

The idea that the dynamical properties of quantum systems are invariably relative to other systems has recently regained currency. Using Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) for a case study, this paper calls attention to a question that has…

In 1976, I met John Bell several times in CERN and we talked about a possible violation of optical theorem, purity tests, EPR paradox, Bell inequalities and their violation. I review our discussions, and explain how they were related to my…

This paper analyzes the effective field theory perspective on modern physics through the lens of the quantum theory of gravitational interaction. The historical part argues that the search for a theory of quantum gravity stimulated the…

I give an account of what it was like to be a PhD student of Abdus Salam and also to take part during the early stages of the development of supersymmetry.