To reach the capacity to analyze and appreciate - by means of case studies in Classical and Modern Physics - the complex process of formulation of physical theories, their experimental corroboration, consequent acceptance by the scientific community, and the possible final obsolescence due to the formulation of alternative theories.
Course Prerequisites
Basic concepts of Classical and Quantum Physics, usually thought during a three years degree in Physics.
Teaching Methods
Oral teaching and discussion. Some relevant documents are shown using slide presentation.
Assessment Methods
Oral exam. Reading and discussing a book chosen from an indicated list is part of the oral exam. The oral exam is furthermore based on two questions. The first one concerns the historical development of scientific theories, focusing on the causes (internals and externals) having as final result the success or the failure of a specific theory. The second one is about the foundations of quantum mechanics; specifically about one of the 12 topics discussed during the lectures.
Texts
Written material covering the different topics is available.
Contents
After a premise on the main currents of the 20th century Philosophy of Science, their relevance to the Foundations of Physics is shown. The progressive weakening of Laplacian determinism during the 19th century is then outlined. The development of new branches of Physics (Thermodynamics, Statistical Mechanics, Electromagnetism, vortex atom theory) or particular theoretical orientations (mechanicism, energetism, electromagnetic hypothesis on nature) are presented as historical cases, which exemplify the interaction between physics and metaphysics in the historical development of theories. The transition between classical and modern physics is illustrated by several significant examples. The hypothesis of the existence of the ether is also presented by discussing the non-crucial nature of the experiments of Michelson and Morley, while the overcoming of this concept is connected to Einstein's special relativity. Topics on Quantum Mechanics illustrating the relevance of the foundations of Physics for the physicsl theories: Plank quanta - Einstein quanta - Bohr atomic model - de Broglie material waves - Schroedinger equation - Optical and quantum interferometry - Copenhagen probabilistic interpretation - Bohm causal interpretation - Uncertainty relations (Heisenberg, Bohr, Kennard, Robertson, Puri, Bohm, Ozawa, Fujikawa, BLW)) - Bohr complementarity and duality (Greenberger/Yasin and Englert) - Different interpretations of the wave/particle dilemma.
Course Language
Italian
More information
Students with a legally valid certification of their impossibility to attend the lectures will instead have access to the video recordings of the lectures held in 2020.
