ENGLISH

Reexamining the Quantum-Classical Relation: Beyond Reductionism and Pluralism

By Alisa Bokulich

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2008
ISBN
0521857201, 9780521857208
LCC
QA805 .B685 2008
Open Library ID
OL16840746M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (2161205 bytes)
Edition
1
Pages
206\206
Topic
Physics
Orientation
yes
Scanned
no
Time added
2011-08-31 04:54:40
Физика;Философия физики

Description

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.

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