Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
|||
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 matches in All Departments
This selection of reviews and papers is intended to stimulate renewed reflection on the fundamental and practical aspects of probability in physics. While putting emphasis on conceptual aspects in the foundations of statistical and quantum mechanics, the book deals with the philosophy of probability in its interrelation with mathematics and physics in general. Addressing graduate students and researchers in physics and mathematics together with philosophers of science, the contributions avoid cumbersome technicalities in order to make the book worthwhile reading for nonspecialists and specialists alike.
TheconferenceChanceinPhysics: FoundationsandPerspectiveswasheldfrom 29thNovemberto3rdDecember1999inIschia, Italy. Itwassponsoredbythe IstitutoItalianoPerGliStudiFiloso?ciinNaples, bytheDeutscheForschun- gemeinschaft(DFG), andbytheSocietaItalianaDiFondamentiDellaFisica. SponsoringbytheInternationalSchoolforAdvancedStudies(ISAS)ofTrieste, Italy, madethecompilationofthisvolumepossible;thefundingbytheIs- tutoItalianoPerGliStudiFiloso?ciwascrucialfortheconferenceandisvery gratefullyacknowledged. TheIstitutomanagedtoprovideauniqueatmosphere foraninterdisciplinarymeeting, andtheseproceedingsre?ectindeedthevery friendlybutneverthelessintenseandneverendingdiscussionsononeofthemost debatedissuesofscience: probability, andinparticularprobabilityinphysics. Wegratefullyacknowlegdetheorganisationalworkaswellastheeditorialwork donebyoursecretaryofthemeetingPhDstudentRoderichTumulka. Themeetingwasintendedtostimulaterenewedre?ectiononthefundam- talandpracticalaspectsofprobabilityinphysics, inparticularthefoundations ofstatisticalsechanics, theprobabilityinthefoundationsofquantummech- ics, thealgebraicviewofprobabilityandthephilosophyofprobabilityinits interrelationwithphysics. Questionslikewhatprobabilityis, orwhatitisabout, orhowprobability entersphysicsareofasubtlekind. Theyaredi?cultinvariousways, often mixedupwiththeenormouscomplexityandtheinescapablelackofmat- maticalrigorinthephysicalapplication, orwiththefoundationalproblemsof quantummechanics, wheretheprobabilisticignoranceconcerningthevaluesof certainphysicalquantitieshasevenbeenelevatedtoamatterofprinciple. At present, theunderstandingofprobabilityinphysicsisalmostaspersonalasthe understandingofquantumtheory. Theaimoftheconferencewasthustofocusonideasaboutprobabilityin physics, itsmeaninganditsphilosophicalimplications, byreviewingthedi?erent facetsofprobabilityinphysicsinitsmodernsettingsandbytakingintoaccount modernquantumtheorieswithoutobservers, wheretheoriginofprobabilityis notmysti?edbydogmatism. Thereviewsweregiveninone-hourtalks, andthediscussionswereheldin theformofroundtables, whereshortercontributionswerealsogiven. Thespeakerswereaskednottodilutethemainthemesoftheconference withtechnicalitiesandtofocussharplyontheissueofprobability. Thiswas VI Preface takentoheartbyallspeakersandthemeetingthusprovedverysuccessful. The contributionsinthisvolumeconsequentlyfocusonconceptualissues, andthey makeworthwhilereadingforspecialistsinthe?eldoffoundationsaswellasfor nonspecialists, becauseextensivetechnicalpriorknowledgeisnotrequired. The contributionshavebeenleftintheordertheywerediscussedinthemeeting, whichprovedtobeaverynaturalone: 1. ClassicalStatisticalMechanics, whereBoltzmann'sunderstandingofstat- ticalmechnanicsasarisingfromkineticgastheoryisreviewedandputinto modernperspectives, withanoutlookonrelativisticstatisticalmechanics. Therelativelackofemphasisonthee?ectofchaoticbehaviouronthefo- dationsofprobabilityisnoteworthy. 2. QuantumMechanics, wherewereviewthoseontologicalquantumtheories, thathavebeenmostseriouslydiscussedintherecentyears. Amongthese areadeterministictheory(Bohmianmechanics)andboththeintrinsically randomtheoriesofwavepacketreductionandtheoperator-basedconsistent (decoherent)histories. Itstartswiththe"orthodox"view, againwith- phasisontheprobabilisticaspectsofthesetheories. 3. Chaoticsystems, wherethedynamicalaspectsforthefoundationsofpro- bilityinphysicsareadressed. 4. PhilosophyofProbability, wheretheissuesoftheearliersectionsarefurther scrutinizedonphilosophicalgrounds. Thesecontributionshavenoabstracts. T
|
You may like...
Folklore and the Fantastic in Twelve…
Marguerite Quintelli-Neary
Hardcover
R2,133
Discovery Miles 21 330
Murder She Wrote - A Study of Agatha…
Patricia D Maida, Nicholas B Spornick
Hardcover
R618
Discovery Miles 6 180
International Tourism: Planning and…
Charlotte Sullivan
Hardcover
The New Territory - Ralph Ellison and…
Marc C. Conner, Lucas E. Morel
Hardcover
R3,125
Discovery Miles 31 250
Die Singende Hand - Versamelde Gedigte…
Breyten Breytenbach
Paperback
|