"A dedicated missionary". Charles Galton Darwin and the new quantum mechanics in Britain

被引:7
作者
Navarro, Jaume [1 ]
机构
[1] Max Planck Inst Hist Sci, D-14195 Berlin, Germany
来源
STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN PHYSICS | 2009年 / 40卷 / 04期
关键词
C; G; Darwin; British quantum physics; Wave mechanics; Bohr; Dirac; Fowler; Larmor;
D O I
10.1016/j.shpsb.2009.08.006
中图分类号
N09 [自然科学史]; B [哲学、宗教];
学科分类号
01 ; 0101 ; 010108 ; 060207 ; 060305 ; 0712 ;
摘要
In this paper I discuss the work on quantum physics and wave mechanics by Charles Galton Darwin, a Cambridge wrangler of the last generation, as a case study to better understand the early reception of quantum physics in Britain. I argue that his proposal in the early 1920s to abandon the strict conservation of energy, as well as his enthusiastic embracement of wave mechanics at the end of the decade. can be easily understood by tracing his ontological and epistemological commitments to his early training in the Cambridge Mathematical Tripos. I also suggest that Darwin's work cannot be neglected in a study of quantum physics in Britain, since he was one of very few fellows of the Royal Society able to judge and explain quantum physics and quantum mechanics. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:316 / 326
页数:11
相关论文
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