The most elegant experiment in the history of physics: Part II
The Saga of the Nature of light The photoelectric effect is a versatile educational tool which may be harnessed to demonstrate the capability of the scientific method to discover new unexpected features in Nature. It reveals at the same time that Science has still unanswered fundamental questions, in particular, regarding the wave-particle dual nature of…
The foundations of our modern vision of the world: an outline
The modern scientific revolution was initiated, less then than 500 years ago by a few “natural philosophers” who dared to challenge the existing dogmatic order that represented knowledge as a repetition of received wisdom and blind reliance on ancient authorities. The “New Philosophy” , as Kepler called it, promoted critical rethinking and radical revision of older premises…
The most elegant experiment in the history of physics
Part I-The experiment that changed the world as we knew it! The photoelectric effect is the key experiment that initiated the quantum mechanical revolution. The theory of Quantum Mechanics is today at the heart of our modern scientific model of Reality. It is also the instigator of all the technological wizardry that pervades our modern society.…
A very brief history of Mass: From “quantity of matter” to Higgs Boson?
The detection of “the God particle” or Higgs boson , in 2012, was the culmination of theoretical and experimental efforts, carried out by thousands of scientists during half a century, in order to test and validate the “Standard Model” of particle Physics. 1 The Standard Model is the latest and most successful attempt to make…
The Quantum Interface with Reality
Bose – Einstein Condensation Abstract The prevalent interpretation of Quantum Mechanics is that the world consists of two distinct domains: However, if the theory of Quantum Mechanics is to be a fundamental model of reality, it must be able to explain the emergence of the classically observed phenomena. In particular it must be able to explain…
The Wave-Particle Conundrum -III- The Quantum Mechanical Model of the Universe
This is the third part of an essay whose aim is to review the wave-particle conundrum in an attempt, to disentangle scientific truths from unvetted speculations and wild unscientific claims. In part I of the essay “The wave-particle conundrum: The Quantum controversy” 1a, we reviewed the wave-particle behavior exhibited by photons and by electrons in…
The scientific meme machine
Rationalism versus Empiricism At the beginning of the 17th century, western Philosophy and Science underwent a profound resurgence after a long period of relative slumber throughout the middle ages, during which philosophical and scientific thought relied on authorities and received wisdom. A vigorous movement for critical rethinking and radical revision of older premises and ideas…
The Wave-Particle Conundrum -II-The Failure of Newton’s clockwork universe
The purpose of this essay is to review the wave-particle conundrum in an attempt, to disentangle scientific truths from unvetted speculations and wild unscientific claims. We will try to show that the current understanding of theoretical Physics does not warrant the type of borderline conclusions, expressed by some, about the demise of objective reality and…
The Wave-Particle Conundrum -I- The Quantum controversy
This article is not meant to be a tutorial about modern Quantum theories. However, the “wave-particle duality” is the cornerstone of Quantum Mechanics; consequently, an accurate description of the “wave-particle conundrum” requires some explanation of the historical background and of the basic concepts and methods of Quantum Physics. The theory of Quantum Mechanics, in all…
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The God particle and other mysteries 