物理学史与哲学

In this work we argue that the power and effectiveness of the Bohrian approach to quantum mechanics is essentially grounded on an inconsistent form of anti-realist realism which supports not only the uncritical tolerance -- in physics --…

We review selected achievements of the late Bogdan Mielnik in the field of theoretical physics, with an emphasis on his attempts to go beyond quantum mechanics. Some of his original views on the problems of contemporary society and…

We give a brief critical examination of the special theory of relativity and a similar Newtonian framework to the first order of the $v/c$ ratio, focusing on the phenomena of aberration, Fresnel dragging, and the Doppler effect. We will…

In 1918, H. Weyl proposed a unified theory of gravity and electromagnetism based on a generalization of Riemannian geometry. With hindsight we now could say that the theory carried with it some of the most original ideas that inspired the…

The way the topic of black-body radiation is presented in standard textbooks (i.e. from Rayleigh-Jeans to Max Planck) does not follow the actual historical timeline of the understanding of the black-body radiation problem. Authors believe…

The questions of what represents space-time in GR, the status of gravitational energy, the substantivalist-relationalist issue, and the (non)exceptional status of gravity are interrelated. If space-time has energy-momentum, then space-time…

After presenting the main characteristics of the Sky of Salamanca, we analyse whether what is represented in it is motivated by astrological or astronomical considerations. We will see that the astrological explanation based on the system…

In 1980 Kowal and Drake found that in December 1612 and January 1613 Galileo observed the planet Neptune. At that time, according to these authors, Galileo was able to measure angular separations with an accuracy of about 10 seconds of arc.…

We argue that quantum computing underwent an inflection point circa 2017. Long promised funding materialised which prompted public and private investments around the world. Techniques from machine learning suddenly influenced central…

If there are fundamental laws of nature, can they fail to be exact? In this paper, I consider the possibility that some fundamental laws are vague. I call this phenomenon 'fundamental nomic vagueness.' I characterize fundamental nomic…

We present a translation and analysis of a cosmic model published by Einstein in 1931. The paper, which is not widely known, features a model of a universe that undergoes an expansion followed by a contraction, quite different to his static…

This is the first translation of Hipparchus Commentaries on the Phenomena of Aratus and Eudoxus into a modern language since the one, in German, published by the philologist Karl Heinrich August Manitius in 1894. Published in 2013, it is…

Einstein's blackboard is a well-known exhibit at the History of Science Museum at Oxford University. However, it is much less well known that the writing on the board provides a neat summary of a work of historic importance, Einstein's 1931…

In 1972, at a symposium celebrating the 70th birthday of Paul Dirac, John Wheeler proclaimed that "the framework falls down for everything that one has ever called a law of physics". Responsible for this "breakage [...] among the laws of…

We study the Jesuit mission churches in America, which for almost two centuries were the most representative constructions in the process of Christian evangelisation on the continent until the expulsion of the Order in 1767. The main…

Herb Bolotin was an excellent physicist and educator with a sense of fun and unique humor. He came to Australia as the Chamber of Manufacturers Professor of Physics at the University of Melbourne in 1971, a position he held until retirement…

According to the standard model of cosmology, the arrangement of matter in the cosmos on scales much larger than galaxies is entirely specified by the initial conditions laid down during inflation. But zooming in by dozens of orders of…

Around the turn of the first Millennium AD, both in Christian polities such as the Byzantine Empire as well as in Buddhist communities such as in Heian Japan, expectations of an end of times emerged. Although based on different religious…

The Great Divide in metaphysical debates about laws of nature is between Humeans, who think that laws merely describe the distribution of matter, and non-Humeans, who think that laws govern it. The metaphysics can place demands on the…

In the early phase of general relativity Elie Cartan and Hermann Weyl thought about the question of how the role of transformation groups could be transferred from classical geometry (Erlangen program) to differential geometry. They had…