Space, Time, and Mechanics

Space, Time, and Mechanics PDF Author: D. Mayr
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789027715258
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
In connection with the "Philosophy of Science" research program conducted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft a colloquium was held in Munich from 18th to 20th May 1919. This covered basic structures of physical theories, the main emphasis being on the interrelation of space, time and mechanics. The present volume contains contributions and the results of the discussions. The papers are given here in the same order of presentation as at the meeting. The development of these "basic structures of physical theories" involved diverging trends arising from different starting points in philosophy and physics. In order to obtain a clear comparison between these schools of thought, it was appropriate to concentrate discussion on geometry and chronology as the common foundation of classical and quantum mechanics. As a rather simple and "Tell prepared field of study, geochronometry seemed suited to analysing these mutually exclusive positions. vii D. Mayr and G. Sussmann (eds.), Space, Time, and Mechanics, vii. Copyright © 1983 by D. Reidel Publishing Company. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The editors gratefully appreciate the sponsorship of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the cooperation of the authors and publisher. It is also a pleasure to thank Frau M.-L. Grohmann and Frau I. Thies for their organisational and especially Frau B. Grund for typing and clerical work. D. MAYR G. SUSSMANN 1982 University of Munich viii INTRODUCTION The distinct positions present at the symposium may be roughly divided into three schools that differ in their philosophical interpretation of physics and their meta- .. . ~ .

Space, Time, and Mechanics

Space, Time, and Mechanics PDF Author: D. Mayr
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789027715258
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
In connection with the "Philosophy of Science" research program conducted by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft a colloquium was held in Munich from 18th to 20th May 1919. This covered basic structures of physical theories, the main emphasis being on the interrelation of space, time and mechanics. The present volume contains contributions and the results of the discussions. The papers are given here in the same order of presentation as at the meeting. The development of these "basic structures of physical theories" involved diverging trends arising from different starting points in philosophy and physics. In order to obtain a clear comparison between these schools of thought, it was appropriate to concentrate discussion on geometry and chronology as the common foundation of classical and quantum mechanics. As a rather simple and "Tell prepared field of study, geochronometry seemed suited to analysing these mutually exclusive positions. vii D. Mayr and G. Sussmann (eds.), Space, Time, and Mechanics, vii. Copyright © 1983 by D. Reidel Publishing Company. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The editors gratefully appreciate the sponsorship of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the cooperation of the authors and publisher. It is also a pleasure to thank Frau M.-L. Grohmann and Frau I. Thies for their organisational and especially Frau B. Grund for typing and clerical work. D. MAYR G. SUSSMANN 1982 University of Munich viii INTRODUCTION The distinct positions present at the symposium may be roughly divided into three schools that differ in their philosophical interpretation of physics and their meta- .. . ~ .

Something Deeply Hidden

Something Deeply Hidden PDF Author: Sean Carroll
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524743038
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER As you read these words, copies of you are being created. Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist and one of this world’s most celebrated writers on science, rewrites the history of twentieth-century physics. Already hailed as a masterpiece, Something Deeply Hidden shows for the first time that facing up to the essential puzzle of quantum mechanics utterly transforms how we think about space and time. His reconciling of quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of relativity changes, well, everything. Most physicists haven’t even recognized the uncomfortable truth: Physics has been in crisis since 1927. Quantum mechanics has always had obvious gaps—which have come to be simply ignored. Science popularizers keep telling us how weird it is, how impossible it is to understand. Academics discourage students from working on the "dead end" of quantum foundations. Putting his professional reputation on the line with this audacious yet entirely reasonable book, Carroll says that the crisis can now come to an end. We just have to accept that there is more than one of us in the universe. There are many, many Sean Carrolls. Many of every one of us. Copies of you are generated thousands of times per second. The Many-Worlds theory of quantum behavior says that every time there is a quantum event, a world splits off with everything in it the same, except in that other world the quantum event didn't happen. Step-by-step in Carroll's uniquely lucid way, he tackles the major objections to this otherworldly revelation until his case is inescapably established. Rarely does a book so fully reorganize how we think about our place in the universe. We are on the threshold of a new understanding—of where we are in the cosmos, and what we are made of.

Philosophy of Physics

Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: Tim Maudlin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691165718
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Philosophical foundations of the physics of space-time This concise book introduces nonphysicists to the core philosophical issues surrounding the nature and structure of space and time, and is also an ideal resource for physicists interested in the conceptual foundations of space-time theory. Tim Maudlin's broad historical overview examines Aristotelian and Newtonian accounts of space and time, and traces how Galileo's conceptions of relativity and space-time led to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Maudlin explains special relativity with enough detail to solve concrete physical problems while presenting general relativity in more qualitative terms. Additional topics include the Twins Paradox, the physical aspects of the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, the constancy of the speed of light, time travel, the direction of time, and more. Introduces nonphysicists to the philosophical foundations of space-time theory Provides a broad historical overview, from Aristotle to Einstein Explains special relativity geometrically, emphasizing the intrinsic structure of space-time Covers the Twins Paradox, Galilean relativity, time travel, and more Requires only basic algebra and no formal knowledge of physics

Quantum Mechanics in the Geometry of Space-Time

Quantum Mechanics in the Geometry of Space-Time PDF Author: Roger Boudet
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642191991
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 126

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Book Description
This book continues the fundamental work of Arnold Sommerfeld and David Hestenes formulating theoretical physics in terms of Minkowski space-time geometry. We see how the standard matrix version of the Dirac equation can be reformulated in terms of a real space-time algebra, thus revealing a geometric meaning for the “number i” in quantum mechanics. Next, it is examined in some detail how electroweak theory can be integrated into the Dirac theory and this way interpreted in terms of space-time geometry. Finally, some implications for quantum electrodynamics are considered. The presentation of real quantum electromagnetism is expressed in an addendum. The book covers both the use of the complex and the real languages and allows the reader acquainted with the first language to make a step by step translation to the second one.

Stochastic Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Spacetime

Stochastic Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Spacetime PDF Author: Eduard Prugovečki
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9789027716170
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
The principal intent of this monograph is to present in a systematic and self-con tained fashion the basic tenets, ideas and results of a framework for the consistent unification of relativity and quantum theory based on a quantum concept of spacetime, and incorporating the basic principles of the theory of stochastic spaces in combination with those of Born's reciprocity theory. In this context, by the physicial consistency of the present framework we mean that the advocated approach to relativistic quantum theory relies on a consistent probabilistic interpretation, which is proven to be a direct extrapolation of the conventional interpretation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. The central issue here is that we can derive conserved and relativistically convariant probability currents, which are shown to merge into their nonrelativistic counterparts in the nonrelativistic limit, and which at the same time explain the physical and mathe matical reasons behind the basic fact that no probability currents that consistently describe pointlike particle localizability exist in conventional relativistic quantum mechanics. Thus, it is not that we dispense with the concept oflocality, but rather the advanced central thesis is that the classical concept of locality based on point like localizability is inconsistent in the realm of relativistic quantum theory, and should be replaced by a concept of quantum locality based on stochastically formulated systems of covariance and related to the aforementioned currents.

Scale Relativity and Fractal Space-time

Scale Relativity and Fractal Space-time PDF Author: Laurent Nottale
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 1848166508
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 766

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art in the development of the theory of scale relativity and fractal space-time. It suggests an original solution to the disunified nature of the classical-quantum transition in physical systems, enabling quantum mechanics to be based on the principle of relativity provided this principle is extended to scale transformations of the reference system. In the framework of such a newly-generalized relativity theory (including position, orientation, motion and now scale transformations), the fundamental laws of physics may be given a general form that goes beyond and integrates the classical and the quantum regimes. A related concern of this book is the geometry of space-time, which is described as being fractal and nondifferentiable. It collects and organizes theoretical developments and applications in many fields, including physics, mathematics, astrophysics, cosmology and life sciences.

Quantum Mechanics in Curved Space-Time

Quantum Mechanics in Curved Space-Time PDF Author: Jurgen Audretsch
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461538149
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 555

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Book Description
Quantum mechanics and quantum field theory on one hand and Gravity as a theory of curved space-time on the other are the two great conc- tual schemes of modern theoretical physics. For many decades they have lived peacefully together for a simple reason: it was a coexistence wi- out much interaction. There has been the family of relativists and the other family of elementary particle physicists and both sides have been convinced that their problems have not very much to do with the problems of the respective other side. This was a situation which could not last forever, because the two theoretical schemes have a particular structural trait in common: their claim for totality and universality. Namely on one hand all physical theories have to be formulated in a quantum mechanical manner, and on the other hand gravity as curved space-time influences all processes and vice versa. It was therefore only a question of time that physically relevant domains of application would attract a general int- est, which demand a combined application of both theoretical schemes. But it is immediately obvious that such an application of both schemes is - possible if the schemes are taken as they are. Something new is needed which reconciles gravity and quantum mechanics. During the last two de- des we are now doing the first steps towards this more general theory and we are confronted with fundamental difficulties.

Space, Time, and Stuff

Space, Time, and Stuff PDF Author: Frank Arntzenius
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198705913
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Frank Arntzenius presents a series of radical ideas about the structure of space and time, and establishes a new metaphysical position which holds that the fundamental structure of the physical world is purely geometrical structure. He argues that we should broaden our conceptual horizons and accept that spaces other than spacetime may exist.

Foundations of Quantum Gravity

Foundations of Quantum Gravity PDF Author: James Lindesay
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107328306
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 419

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Book Description
Exploring how the subtleties of quantum coherence can be consistently incorporated into Einstein's theory of gravitation, this book is ideal for researchers interested in the foundations of relativity and quantum physics. The book examines those properties of coherent gravitating systems that are most closely connected to experimental observations. Examples of consistent co-gravitating quantum systems whose overall effects upon the geometry are independent of the coherence state of each constituent are provided, and the properties of the trapping regions of non-singular black objects, black holes and a dynamic de Sitter cosmology are discussed analytically, numerically and diagrammatically. The extensive use of diagrams to summarise the results of the mathematics enables readers to bypass the need for a detailed understanding of the steps involved. Assuming some knowledge of quantum physics and relativity, the book provides text boxes featuring supplementary information for readers particularly interested in the philosophy and foundations of the physics.

The Emergence of Spacetime in String Theory

The Emergence of Spacetime in String Theory PDF Author: Tiziana Vistarini
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134842406
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The nature of space and time is one of the most fascinating and fundamental philosophical issues which presently engages at the deepest level with physics. During the last thirty years this notion has been object of an intense critical review in the light of new scientific theories which try to combine the principles of both general relativity and quantum theory—called theories of quantum gravity. This book considers the way string theory shapes its own account of spacetime disappearance from the fundamental level.