Biographies, History, Philosophy of Physics

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the biographies, history, and philosophy of physicists, with participants sharing various articles and reflections on lesser-known figures in the field. The scope includes historical accounts, personal reflections, and contributions to the philosophy of physics, as well as connections to broader societal issues.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Historical
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight Berta Karlik's contributions to physics and her role in pioneering women's academic careers in Austria, expressing regret over her relative obscurity.
  • Others note the tendency for prominent physicists to overshadow lesser-known figures, emphasizing the importance of recognizing all contributions to the field.
  • Several participants share links to biographies and reflections on various physicists, including Lars Brink and Titus Pankey, discussing their significance and achievements.
  • One participant mentions the historical context of mathematics in ancient India, exploring its evolution and limitations.
  • There are references to various archives and resources for exploring the history of physics and mathematics, including oral histories and biographical databases.
  • Some participants express a desire to keep the discussion focused on serious academic contributions while avoiding metaphysical debates.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of discussing lesser-known physicists and their contributions, but there is no consensus on specific figures or the direction of the discussion. Multiple competing views on the relevance of certain topics and figures remain present.

Contextual Notes

Some contributions reference articles that may not be widely known or accessible, and there is an acknowledgment of the limitations in discussing figures who may not have received significant recognition in mainstream narratives.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying the history and philosophy of physics, as well as individuals looking to explore the contributions of lesser-known scientists in the field.

sbrothy
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arXiv: physics.hist-ph. History, philosophy:

Berta Karlik -- The Grande Dame of the Vienna Radium Institute

Berta Karlik was an Austrian physicist who was not only among the early radioactivity researchers and nuclear physicists in Vienna, but also pioneered a woman's academic career in Austria. She was the first woman at the University of Vienna to acquire the venia legendi in physics, and the first full professor at a philosophical faculty in Austria. For almost thirty years she was the head of the Institute for Radium Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

I admit (to my shame)I haven't heard of her and I'm not gonna read it until tomorrow. But yeah....
 
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Science news on Phys.org
Hey, thanks! I've heard bits about her, but not the full story. It’s kind of disappointing how so many fascinating physicists fly under the radar. It seems like only the ones who stir up controversy with groundbreaking discoveries get all the limelight. But honestly, there are countless others who have poured their heart and soul into studying and progressing physics.
 
Yeah. It's as if the big names sometimes outshine some of the lesser ones, and I don't mean lesser in a professional capacity. All these other discoveries are important too. I'm ashamed to admit I still haven't even read the paper. (I have a habit of downloading stuff to my cellphone for reading should I be without net or similar. That's how far this paper has come. :) )

It reminds me of the Curies and I'll be surprised if not at least Marie Curie is mentioned in there somewhere.

Happy reading.
 
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arXiv: physics.hist-ph. History, biography.

Lars Brink: November 12, 1943 - October 29, 2022

We give some personal reflections on the person and scientist Lars Brink and on some of his scientific achievements. Our relations to Lars are briefly described in [1] and [2], while the sources relevant for this text are summarised in [3].
 
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I realize that with this one I'm veering out onto thin ice, but I've just been re-reading the military SciFi Schlock Mercernary, which has an in-universe setting where Terran millitary spaceships are referred to as "battleplates", are the size of e.g.: New York, and all named after major historical impact sites, such as for example Vredefort and Chicxulub crater.

The Evenki accounts of the 1908 Tunguska event collected in 1920s-1930s

Thus, I couldn't help myself.

-----

Here I'm back on track:

Biography of the French astronomer Henri Camichel


Regards.
 
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  • #10
It's of course pointless to point this one out right?

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Everyone knows that one. I'll beware I don't veer too deep into philosophical metaphysics. We can't lower this forum's bar to the level of Stanford University's. That won't do. :P
 
  • #12
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  • #13
pines-demon said:
So just to be clear, we share here articles about the biography of somebody (no matter the format)?

Here is one that I read recently about Titus Pankey, he is not that well known but still of great importance:
Titus Pankey and his groundbreaking supernova light curve
That's what I'm thinking yes. Any participation is welcome. It goes without saying that most of the content will come from "History and Philosophy" and the likewise more soft sections of Arxiv, as "Popular Physics" and the like. But if we try to keep it somewhat serious and not veer to far into metaphysics (and by any deity keep popular articles, e.g: phys.org, out of it) we'll collect some usable information. I guess blog posts from serious scientists would be ok as long as there's a real article at the bottom of it.

Regards.
 
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  • #15
Mathematics History and Overview..

More math-history. Looks like pretty heavy stuff but also interesting!
Emergence of Mathematics in Ancient India: A Reassessment

"This work explores a possible course of evolution of mathematics in ancient times in India when there was no script, no place-value system, and no zero. Reviewing examples of time-reckoning, large numbers, sacrificial altar-making, and astronomy, it investigates the role of concrete objects, natural events, rituals and names in context-dependent arithmetic, revealing its limited scope confined to counting, addition and subtraction. Higher operations, namely, multiplication, division and fractional calculations had to wait until the advent of symbolic numerals and procedures for computation. It is argued that the impression of these higher operations in a period usually known as the Vedic times is caused by inadvertent interpolation of present knowledge of mathematics in modern readings of the ancient texts."


The legacy of Bletchley Park on UK mathematics
 
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  • #17
https://www.webofstories.com/storytellers

https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories

Feynman: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (1981)
 
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  • #18
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  • #19
pines-demon said:
Well it is always worth mentioning MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, it is mostly about mathematics but there are many physicist in the biographies.
Those archives are new to me so this thread already paid off.
 
  • #21
  • #22
sbrothy said:
The history of the discovery of the physical quantum of action (Zur Geschichte der Auffindung des physikalischen Wirkungsquantums).

About the second law of mechanical heat theory (Über den zweiten Hauptsatz der mechanischen Wärmetheorie)

I dunno about the second one but they seem to go together....

EDIT:

And well, this one sorta kinda smells a little of contemporary history.

Biophysics in Africa: challenges, priorities, and hopes
You are not providing enough information. The first two articles are translations of articles by Max Planck. The second is his thesis.
 
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  • #25
Frabjous said:
You are not providing enough information. The first two articles are translations of articles by Max Planck. The second is his thesis.
No wonder I thought they went together :)

I may need to slow down a little.
 
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  • #26
Matter and cosmogenesis in Kant's Theory of the Heavens.

I just love it when physics explanations include god. I wonder if Kant meant that the heavens was "ein ding an sich" or perhaps some other thing. I'm sure he thought it was "dings" all the way down. :)

Newton may not have had the whole picture but at least he wasn't sitting in an armchair and guessing. I'm sure he got him good. Every time I've tried to read Kant I've been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of gibberish.

But then again we've already established I'm not that smart.
 
  • #27
Potentially interesting tidbits from Arxiv's physics.hist-ph (oldest first.)

The Compton scientific mission in Brazil in 1941: a perspective from national newspaper and documents of the time

Revisiting Taylor and the Trinity Test

An English Translation of Gröbli's Ph.D. Dissertation: "Specielle Probleme über die Bewegung geradliniger paralleler Wirbelfäden"

Richard Kirwan a [United] Irish Men of Science in Europe

(So I guess I'm enlarging the scope of the thread to physics history in general but I think everyone saw that coming.)

EDIT1:

Heh, 1. of April:

On the Superiority of the University of Arizona's Physics Club.

At least this time I noticed and wasn't taken for an embarrassing tour! :P
 
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  • #29
Nice find. Very tasteful (is that the word? Sober maybe?).
 
  • #30
I liked Shing Tung Yao's autobiography The Shape Of A Life He started out as a hoodlum, later won the Fields medal.
 

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