物理学史与哲学
We examine the construction of electromagnetism in its current form, and in an alternative form, from a point of view that combines a minimal realism with strict demands of reason that we first introduce. We follow the historical…
In this article, we present a description of the \textit{apparatus} employed by Henry Cavendish, which in turn is actually a compendium of 17 complex experiments, to try to experimentally measure the universal gravitation constant,…
This short essay traces the conceptual history of micro- and macroscopicity in the context of physical science. By focusing on three distinct episodes spanning five centuries, we show the scientific and philosophical meanings of this…
Stephen Hawking's contributions to the understanding of gravity, black holes and cosmology were truly immense. They began with the singularity theorems in the 1960s followed by his discovery that black holes have an entropy and consequently…
Is reality three-dimensional and becoming real (Presentism), or is reality four-dimensional and becoming illusory (Eternalism)? Both options raise difficulties. I argue that we do not need to be trapped by this dilemma. There is a third…
Albert Einstein's practice in physics and his philosophical positions gradually reoriented themselves from more empiricist towards rationalist viewpoints. This change accompanied his turn towards unified field theory and different…
In this contribution to FQXi's essay contest 2018, I suggest that it is sometimes a step forward to reverse our intuition on "what is fundamental", a move that is somewhat reminiscent of the idea of noncommutative geometry. I argue that…
I first discuss the main motivations for Tony Skyrme's highly original program (1958-62) of making fermionic nucleons out of bosonic pion fields, as described in his Cosener's House talk in 1984. These include a dislike of point-like…
Some attack scientific rationality, others defend it, but both miss the point. What both parties take to be scientific rationality is actually a species of irrationality masquerading as scientific rationality. The current orthodox…
In 1922, Albert Einstein visited Paris and interacted extensively with an illustrious section of the French academia. In overfilled sessions at the Coll\'{e}ge de France and the Sorbonne, Einstein explained his theories of relativity, and…
The fundamental physical theories that interpret and explain behaviour of matter in nature are dependent on several unobservables and insensibles in their construction. While a rigorous natural philosophy cannot take them for granted, there…
This article summarizes some of the most important scientific contributions of Murray Gell-Mann (1929-2019). (Invited article for Current Science, Indian Academy of Sciences.)
We retrace an ab initio relativistic derivation of Maxwell's equations that was developed by Feynman in unpublished notes, clarifying the analogies and the differences with analogous treatments present in the literature. Unlike the latter,…
A major focus of the archaeoastronomical research conducted around the world focuses on understanding how ancient cultures observed sunrise and sunset points along the horizon, particularly at the solstices and equinoxes. Scholars argue…
In recent years philosophers of science have explored categorical equivalence as a promising criterion for when two (physical) theories are equivalent. On the one hand, philosophers have presented several examples of theories whose…
Recent work by MacDonald et al. has highlighted the valuable work carried out by sky watchers and auroral enthusiasts in obtaining high-quality digital images of rare and unusual auroral structures. A feature of particular interest, which…
I begin by examining the question of the quantum limits of knowledge by briefly presenting the constraints of the theory that derive from its mathematical structure (in particular the no-go theorems formulated by von Neumann and Kochen and…
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics honors three pioneering scientists for their fundamental contributions to basic cosmic questions - Professor James Peebles (Princeton University), Michel Mayor (University of Geneva), and Didier Queloz…
These are author's recollections of informal discussions on foundations of quantum mechanics, which happened in his presence in 1970-80s
Stirling Colgate was a remarkably imaginative physicist, an independent thinker with a wide breadth of interests and contagious enthusiasm, a born leader with enduring drive to attack fundamental problems in science. Among his many…