Falkenburg Particle Metaphysics

A Critical Account of Subatomic Reality
1. Auflage 2007
ISBN: 978-3-540-33732-4
Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 386 Seiten

Reihe: The Frontiers Collection

Are the particles of modern physics 'real' or are they virtual entities, their existence deduced merely by abstract theories? This book examines the continuing debate regarding the inner constitution of matter by exploring the particle concept in physics. It investigates if the particles of particle physics are real or not. Readers interested in the 'true meaning' of such physical concepts will find this book informative and thought provoking.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Falkenburg, Brigitte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface;7
2;Contents;14
3;1 Scientific Realism;17
3.1;1.1 Empirical Knowledge and Metaphysics;20
3.2;1.2 More or Less Empiricist Demarcations;27
3.3;1.3 The Real and the Actual;33
3.4;1.4 Realism and Quantum Theory;41
3.5;1.5 The Metaphysics of Physics;47
3.6;1.6 Towards a Realism of Properties;54
4;2 Extending Physical Reality;57
4.1;2.1 Introducing Physical Quantities;59
4.2;2.2 Idealization and the Experimental Method;64
4.3;2.3 Discovery or Manufacture?;69
4.4;2.4 Phenomena and Their Causes;76
4.5;2.5 Observation Generalized;81
4.6;2.6 The Empirical Reality of Physics;87
5;3 Particle Observation and Measurement;93
5.1;3.1 Two Particle Concepts;96
5.2;3.2 Evidence for a Particle: Two Case Studies;99
5.3;3.3 Theorizing the Observations;108
5.4;3.4 The Track of the Positron;126
5.5;3.5 Particle Identification and Quantum Electrodynamics;130
5.6;3.6 Are There Subatomic Particles?;135
6;4 Probing Subatomic Structure;140
6.1;4.1 Scattering Experiments;142
6.2;4.2 Rutherford Scattering and Scale Invariance;147
6.3;4.3 Pointlikeness in the Quantum Domain;151
6.4;4.4 A Chain of Models;163
6.5;4.5 Analogy with the Optical Microscope;168
6.6;4.6 Looking Into The Atom;173
7;5 Measurement and the Unity of Physics;176
7.1;5.1 Incommensurability and Measurement;178
7.2;5.2 A Heterogeneous Measurement Theory;184
7.3;5.3 Particle Tracks;189
7.4;5.4 Building Bridges: Unifying Principles;202
7.5;5.5 The Scales of Physical Quantities;213
7.6;5.6 Questions of Semantic Consistency;217
8;6 Metamorphoses of the Particle Concept;223
8.1;6.1 Classical Particles;224
8.2;6.2 The Shift to Quantum Particles;227
8.3;6.3 The Operational Particle Concept;234
8.4;6.4 More Quantum Particles;236
8.5;6.5 The Parts of Matter;260
8.6;6.6 What Kinds of Particles Remain?;271
9;7 Wave–Particle Duality;278
9.1;7.1 Light Particles and Matter Waves;280
9.2;7.2 Wave–Particle Duality in Quantum Mechanics;281
9.3;7.3 Prepare Waves, Detect Particles;291
9.4;7.4 The Double Slit Reconsidered;302
9.5;7.5 Recent Which-Way Experiments;318
9.6;7.6 The Causes of the Phenomena;329
10;8 Subatomic Reality;333
10.1;8.1 Scientific Realism Reconsidered;334
10.2;8.2 The Meaning of Quantum Concepts;336
10.3;8.3 The Mereological Particle Concept;338
10.4;8.4 The Causal Particle Concept;341
10.5;8.5 Wave–Particle Duality;342
10.6;8.6 Subatomic Reality: A Critical View;346
11;Appendices;353
11.1;A Measurement Theory;354
11.1.1;A.1 Empirical Relational Structures;354
11.1.2;A.2 Physical Quantities;355
11.1.3;A.3 The Archimedean Axiom;356
11.1.4;A.4 The Metaphysics of Measurement;356
11.2;B The .-Theorem of Dimensional Analysis;359
11.3;C The Effective Cross-Section;361
11.4;D Dimensional Analysis of Rutherford Scattering;364
11.5;E Mereology;366
11.5.1;E.1 Axioms of Mereology;366
11.5.2;E.2 Mereology and Physics;367
11.5.3;E.3 Matter Constituents;369
12;References;371
13;Name Index;390