Classical mechanics and quantum mechanics are two of the most successful scientific theories ever discovered, and yet how they can describe the same world is far from clear: one theory is deterministic, the other indeterministic; one theory describes a world in which chaos is pervasive, the other a world in which chaos is absent. Focusing on the exciting field of 'quantum chaos', this book reveals that there is a subtle and complex relation between classical and quantum mechanics. It challenges the received view that classical and quantum mechanics are incommensurable, and revives another, largely forgotten tradition due to Niels Bohr and Paul Dirac. By artfully weaving together considerations from the history of science, philosophy of science, and contemporary physics, this book offers a new way of thinking about intertheory relations and scientific explanation. It will be of particular interest to historians and philosophers of science, philosophically-inclined physicists, and interested non-specialists.
Author(s): Alisa Bokulich
Edition: 1
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 206
Tags: Физика;Философия физики;
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 10
Introduction......Page 12
1 Intertheoretic relations: Are imperialismand isolationism our only options?......Page 15
2 Heisenberg’s closed theories and pluralistic realism......Page 40
3 Dirac’s open theories and the reciprocal correspondence principle......Page 60
4 Bohr’s generalization of classical mechanics......Page 84
5 Semiclassical mechanics: Putting quantum flesh on classical bones......Page 115
6 Can classical structures explain quantum phenomena?......Page 146
7 A structural approach to intertheoretic relations......Page 167
References......Page 188
Index......Page 202
