物理学史与哲学

Wave-particle duality, wave function collapse, objective probability and nonlocality constitute four prominent puzzles in modern physics. Although these four topics may appear unrelated, a closer examination reveals that they do share some…

This contribution, to be published in Imagine Math 8 to celebrate Michele Emmer's 75th birthday, can be seen as the second part of my previous considerations on the relationships between topology and physics (Mouchet, 2018). Nevertheless,…

This article traces the origins of Kenneth Wilson's conception of effective field theories (EFTs) in the 1960s. I argue that what really made the difference in Wilson's path to his first prototype of EFT are his long-standing pragmatic…

During the years from 1917 to 1921, A.S. Eddington was intensely occupied with Einstein's general theory of relativity and the epic eclipse expedition which confirmed one of the theory's predictions. During the same period, he investigated…

Most physics theories are deterministic, with the notable exception of quantum mechanics which, however, comes plagued by the so-called measurement problem. This state of affairs might well be due to the inability of standard mathematics to…

Physics is formulated in terms of timeless classical mathematics. A formulation on the basis of intuitionist mathematics, built on time-evolving processes, would offer a perspective that is closer to our experience of physical reality.

An interesting, yet unknown, episode concerning the effective permeation of the scientific revolution in the XVIII century Kingdom of Naples (and, more generally, Italy) is recounted. The quite intriguing story of Watt's steam engine…

Interest in Brownian motion was shared by different communities: this phenomenon was first observed by the botanist Robert Brown in 1827, then theorised by physicists in the 1900s, and eventually modelled by mathematicians from the 1920s,…

The broad debate on foundational issues in quantum mechanics, which took place at the famous 1957 Chapel Hill conference on \textit{The Role of Gravitation in Physics}, is here critically analyzed with an emphasis on Richard Feynman's…

In this contribution we report about Feynman's approach to gravitation, starting from the records of his interventions at the Chapel Hill Conference of 1957. As well known, Feynman was concerned about the relation of gravitation with the…

An account of Richard Feynman's work on gravitational waves is given. Feynman's involvement with this subject can be traced backto 1957, when he attended the famous Chapel Hill conference on the Role of Gravitation in Physics. At that…

We make some remarks on the mathematics and metaphysics of the hole argument, in response to a recent article in this journal by Weatherall ([2018]). Broadly speaking, we defend the mainstream philosophical literature from the claim that…

In 1746 Euler publishes E88 -- Nova theoria lucis et colorum (A new theory of light and colors) in five chapters. This is an annotated translation of Chapter II - De formatione ac propagatione pulsuum (On the formation and propagation of…

This paper explicates the direct empirical significance (DES) of symmetries in gauge theory, with comparisons to classical mechanics. Given a physical system composed of subsystems, such significance is to be awarded to physical differences…

The "universality" of critical phenomena is much discussed in philosophy of scientific explanation, idealizations and philosophy of physics. Lange and Reutlinger recently opposed Batterman concerning the role of some deliberate distortions…

In this thought-provoking book, Richard Healey proposes a new interpretation of quantum theory inspired by pragmatist philosophy. Healey puts forward the interpretation as an alternative to realist quantum theories on the one hand such as…

In this essay a quantum-dualistic, perspectival and synchronistic interpretation of quantum mechanics is further developed in which the classical world-from-decoherence which is perceived (decoherence) and the perceived…

In 1900 Lord Kelvin identified two problems for 19th century physics, two "clouds" as he puts it: the relative motion of the ether with respect to massive objects, and Maxwell-Boltzmann's theorem on the equipartition of energy. These issues…

Professor Tom Kibble was an internationally-renowned theoretical physicist whose contributions to theoretical physics range from the theory of elementary particles to modern early-universe cosmology. The unifying theme behind all his work…

One of the most difficult problems in the foundations of physics is what gives rise to the arrow of time. Since the fundamental dynamical laws of physics are (essentially) symmetric in time, the explanation for time's arrow must come from…