The History of Science as “the History of Rare Fluctuations of Thought and Scientific Work ... like Archimedes and Newton”

The article examines the scientific and biographical approach to the history of science and especially its version, which can be called the method of personification of history. Both methods were proposed by S. I. Vavilov and both are associated with his understanding of the history of science as “a sequence of rare fluctuations of thought and scientific work ... like Archimedes and Newton”. The method of personification of history is illustrated on a number of large-scale fragments of the history of physics of the 19th and 20th centuries. Five cases of such personification are considered. This is, first of all, the case of G. Monge, who personified the science and technology of revolutionary France (analyzed by Vavilov himself). Two casesrefer to two scientific revolutions in physics of the 20th century (to the quantum-relativistic – the case of A. Einstein and to the gauge-field – the case of M. Gell-Mann). And, finally, two cases of personification of the history of Russian physics. In the first, not one, but two essentially opposite key figures of Russian physics on the eve of the scientific revolution are considered: N. A. Umov and P. N. Lebedev. The second case is S. I. Vavilov himself, who in many ways personified the development of Soviet physics in the first half of the 20th century.

Um recorte histórico das contribuições de Erwin Schrödinger para a Mecânica Quântica

Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961) foi um físico austríaco, um grande cientista que viveu em um contexto europeu de mudança e turbulência, mas isso não o impediu de ter uma vida muito intensa, tanto em sua pesquisa científica quanto em sua vida pessoal. Seu trabalho mais famoso, publicado em 1926, inclui sua teoria da mecânica ondulatória, no qual consta a famosa equação que tem hoje o seu nome. Ele mostrou que a equação funcionava adequadamente para calcular os níveis de energia do átomo de hidrogênio. Em outros trabalhos, publicados no mesmo período, mostrou outras aplicações designadas ao oscilador harmônico e uma generalização para o caso dependente do tempo. Sua dedicação aos sistemas quânticos lhe rendeu o Prêmio Nobel em 1933. É sobre esse homem fascinante e complexo que se apresenta um recorte histórico com potencial para atrair não apenas os cientistas, mas qualquer pessoa interessada na história de nossos tempos, na vida e no pensamento de um dos maiores cientistas do século XX. O presente artigo nasceu do fato de que, embora muito se fale sobre Schrödinger, não há textos em língua portuguesa que ultrapassem os limites biográficos, apesar de sua extrema relevância teórica para a pesquisa acadêmica. Nesse sentido, tem-se por objetivo visitar algumas obras que relatam os acontecimentos ou fatos econômicos, políticos, sociais e culturais que resultaram no período mais produtivo da carreira de Schrödinger.A historical overview of Erwin Schrödinger’s contributions to Quantum MechanicsAbstractErwin Schrödinger (1887-1961) was an Austrian physicist, a great scientist who lived in a European context of change and turmoil, but this did not stop him from living a very intense life, both in his scientific research and in his personal life. His most famous work, published in 1926, includes his theory of wave mechanics, which contains the famous equation that bears his name today. He showed that the equation worked properly for calculating the energy levels of the hydrogen atom. In other works, published in the same period, he showed other applications assigned to the harmonic oscillator and a generalization for the time dependent case. His dedication to quantum systems won him the Nobel Prize in 1933. It is about this fascinating and complex man who presents a historical snippet with the potential to attract not only scientists, but anyone interested in the history of our times, life and thought from one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. This article was born from the fact that, although much is said about Schrödinger, there are no texts in Portuguese that go beyond biographical limits, despite its extreme theoretical relevance for academic research. In this sense, the objective is to visit some works that report the economic, political, social and cultural events or facts that resulted in the most productive period of Schrödinger's career.Keywords: Quantum mechanics; Schrödinger; History of Physics.

Rewolucje naukowe według Sadego a dzisiejsza epistemologia

W. Sady’s book Struktura rewolucji relatywistycznej i kwantowej w fizyce [The Structure of the Relativist and Quantum Revolutions in Physics] is discussed. In his analysis of the history of physics of XIX and early XX centuries the Author argues, contrary to Kuhn, that grand discoveries result as conclusions from certain assumptions and suitably selected pieces of background knowledge. I point to major Sady’s inspirations — Wittgenstein, Wiśniewski and Fleck — and the kinship of his account to hinge epistemology and my sandwich theory of knowledge. His view on the social nature of knowledge and the role of mathematics is commented upon. In conclusion I suggest that the tension between Sady’s antirealism and traditional truth requirement for knowledge can be resolved by a suitable modification of Ajdukiewicz’s radical conventionalism.

Gender Bias in New South Wales Higher School Certificate (HSC) Physics

A sense of belonging is an important factor for the persistence of girls in the study of physics. Content and imagery that presents the field as a masculine domain will undermine belonging and make it more difficult for girls to establish a physics identity that is congruent with their gender identity. The physics syllabus, final examinations and commonly used textbooks associated with the New South Wales Higher School Certificate were examined for gendered content. It was found that an emphasis on the history of physics in the syllabus has resulted in content and images in which male figures significantly outnumber female figures. This gendered content will be counter-productive to other efforts to increase the participation of girls in physics and suggestions on how this can be addressed are made.

Time: A Very Short Introduction

Time: A Very Short Introduction explores questions about the nature of time that have been at the heart of philosophical thinking since its beginnings: questions like whether time has a beginning or end, whether and in what sense time passes, how time is different from space, whether time has a direction, and whether it is possible to travel in time. These questions passed into the hands of scientists with the work of Isaac Newton when the structure of space and time became connected to motion and included the subject matter of physics. This VSI charts the way that the history of physics, from Isaac Newton through Albert Einstein’s two revolutions, wrought changes to the conception of time. There are parts of physics that are in a state of confusion, but this strand of development is a story of philosophical illumination and conceptual beauty. The discussion here provides an opportunity to see what distinguishes the methods of physics from those of philosophy. It brings together physics, cognitive science, and phenomenology in the service of reconciling what modern theories tell us about the nature of time with the everyday living experience of time.