Κατεύθυνση Ιστορία και Φιλοσοφία της Επιστήμης και της Τεχνολογίας
Library of the School of Science

2019-12-03

2019

Alexiou Nikolaos

Αραμπατζής Θεόδωρος, Καθηγητής, Ιστορίας και Φιλοσοφίας της Επιστήμης, ΕΚΠΑ

Η Φυσική Στερεάς Κατάστασης: Η ιστορία της και το ζήτημα της αναγωγής της στη Φυσική Στοιχειωδών Σωματιδίων

Greek

Solid State Physics: Historical issues and the controversy over the reduction to Elementary Particle Physics

The history of the establishment and development of Solid State Physics in the United States reveals interesting features from the point of view of History and Philosophy of Science. The ideas that played a key role in the formation of the American Physical Society were those of pure research, clear borders with other sciences, given that physics was looking into the fundamental principles of nature, and independence from practical applications. However, Solid State Physics was born mainly in industrial laboratories, it was directly linked to Chemistry and Metallurgy, and it was based on practical applications. The first aim of this thesis is to show that the borders among the physical sciences are not always clear, that the distinction between basic and applied science is not an easy task, and that financial and social factors affect the development of science.
In the second part of the thesis, I study a controversy within the physics community about the reduction of physical theories. I present the views of prominent Solid State physicists and Elementary Particles physicists about whether the laws of the former can be reduced to those of the latter, that is, whether they can be rigorously deduced from them. This controversy is highly relevant to the issue of reductionism/emergentism in the philosophy of science. The study of physical reality requires the adoption of a hierarchy among different levels of complexity. In this part of the thesis I aim to show that the laws at every level of complexity, even if they are constrained by the laws of the lower level, cannot be derived from them. New qualities emerge every time the system we study becomes more complex.

Science

Solid State Physics, basic science, applied science, reduction, emergence

Yes

2

Yes

58

79

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https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/2886786