History of Physics by Areas |
Classical Mechanics > s.a. chaos; hamiltonian
and lagrangian dyamics; special relativity.
* Earliest developments: The
earliest known ancient Greek text on mechanics is the pseudo-Aristotelian
Mechanical Problems, probably written by an early Peripatetic.
* First period: Qualitative
investigations, until Kepler & Galileo; Galileo's experiments with dropping
bodies were preceded by those described in 1544 by the historian Benedetto Varchi
and those reported in 1576 by Giuseppe Moletti, Galileo's predecessor in Padova.
* Second period: Quantitative
theory (1687–1889), Newton, Euler, Lagrange, Laplace, Hamilton, Jacobi;
Especially celestial mechanics, formalized in the many-body problem; Stability?
[@ Moulton 02; Dugas 55];
From Newton onwards, purely mechanical models until Maxwell and electromagnetic theory
(ether persisted).
* Third period: Neo-qualitative
theory (1889–present), resurrection of geometrical point of view and use
of manifolds (as opposed to Euclidean space), differential topology (as opposed to
analytic methods), new questions (structural stability); Started with Poincaré,
but needed intrinsic calculus by Cartan for full development, Birkhoff, Moser.
@ General references: Bailey FP(83) [least action],
FP(02) [Lagrangian and Hamiltonian];
Segrè 84;
Fabrikant SPU(91) [acceleration];
Charap ht/93-conf [analytical mechanics];
Crowe 07 [Aristotle to Einstein];
Coxhead SHPSA(12) [pseudo-Aristotelian Mechanical Problems];
Nolte 18 [I].
@ Specific topics: Nolte PT(10)apr [phase space];
Esposito & Schettino a1204 [acceptance of Newton's science, and Atwood's machine];
Graney a1204
[Riccioli's attempts to disprove Galileo's ideas, and confirmation];
Rojo & Bloch 17 [least action];
Yamamoto 18 [force, gravity and magnetism];
news sn(20)nov [known copies of Principia 1st edition];
> s.a. Pendulum.
> Specific topics: see clocks;
constrained systems; momentum;
Perpetual Motion Devices.
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics > s.a. critical phenomena;
Kinetic Theory; heat; statistical
mechanics; temperature; thermodynamics.
* XIX century: With the advent of
steam engines came the first developments by Black, Carnot, Clausius, Boltzmann,
Gibbs, et al, as a way of understanding and maximizing engine efficiency; 1842,
First law formulated by Robert Mayer; 1843–1849, Experiments on energy and
heat by Robert Joule; 1850, Second law formulated by Clausius and by Lord Kelvin;
The subject became more fundamental with Boltzmann and kinetic theory; 1950s,
Jacques Yvon's work on output power limitation (Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency); 1970s,
Finite-time thermodynamics.
* XX century: Brussels School,
self-organization paradigm, and non-equilibrium thermodynamics; "The first
systematic and contradiction-free formulation was given by Carathéodory".
* 2000: It is still a forefront
discipline; One of its new uses is to maximize information flow in computers.
@ Entropy: Cohen a0807-conf [entropy, probabilistic vs dynamical interpretation];
Jacobson a1810-in [including black-hole enropy].
@ Thermodynamics, other: Truesdell 80;
Kox SHPMP(06) [third law, Nernst's heat theorem and Einstein];
Lemos & Penner AJP(08)jan [Sadi Carnot and the second law];
Newburgh EJP(09) [from Carnot's caloric to Clausius' entropy];
Starikov a1110 [George Augustus Linhart];
Sparavigna IJSci(13)-a1301
[Robert Grosseteste, the four classical elements and phase transitions];
Ouerdane et al EPJST(15)-a1411 [laws, efficiencies, finite-time thermodynamics];
Sauer EPJst(17)-a1612 [Ehrenfest classification of phase transitions];
Piazza a1807 [the Dulong-Petit law].
@ Boltzmann: Goldstein LNP(01)cm;
Crease pw(06)sep;
Gyftopoulos a0710;
Brown & Myrvold a0809 [H-theorem];
Swendsen PhyA(10) [definition of entropy];
Boltzmann a1906
[concept of statistical ensemble, ergodicity; translation].
@ Gibbs: Mehra FP(98) [and foundations];
Kadanoff JSP(14)-a1403-talk;
Phillies a1706
[reading his Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics].
@ Statistical mechanics, other: Brush 83;
Dresden PT(88)sep;
Parisi cm/01-conf [Planck];
Cercignani LNP(01);
Viscardy cm/06/SHPMP [non-equilibrium];
Kadanoff JSP(09)-a0906 [phase transitions and mean-field theory];
Narasimhan PT(09)jul [diffusion];
Andersen & Chandler PNAS(14)-a1407 [Robert W Zwanzig];
Peliti & Rechtman JSP(16)-a1606 [Einstein's approach];
Lebowitz & Bonolis EPJH(17)-a1702 [Joel Lebowitz];
> s.a. ising model; montecarlo method.
Other Areas of Physics
> s.a. brownian motion; physics teaching.
* Electromagnetism:
The first observations were probably made by Thales of Miletus (600 BC) on
rubbing; Ideas were confused until the end of the XVIII century, with Cavendish
& Coulomb (analogous figure to Newton for gravity); 1820, Electromagnetism
discovered and first electrodynamic theory proposed, then developed quickly until
final form by Maxwell; Convention on + and − charges chosen by B Franklin;
Hertz's experiments lead to acceptance of Maxwell's theory (over Helmholtz's).
* Atomic physics:
1860, Lord Kelvin and others proposed that atoms consist of vortices spinning in
the ether; 1921, Reputable physicists (including Joseph Larmor) still supported
theories of atoms without quantum theory.
@ Atomic physics: Brush 83;
Nye 84;
Boorse et al 89;
Keve 00 [historical novel];
Lindley 01 [Boltzmann];
Irons AJP(01)aug [Poincaré 1911–1912];
Di Grezia & Esposito FP(04)phy [Thomas-Fermi statistical model & Majorana];
Bernstein AJP(06)oct [Brown, Boltzmann, Bachelier, Einstein];
Wilholt SHPMP(08) [XIX-century debates and realism];
Haroche PRL(08) [50 years of atomic, molecular and optical physics];
Toennies et al AdP(11)-a1109 [experimental, Otto Stern (1888-1969)];
Baily a1111-wd [models, 1904-1913];
Kragh & Nielsen a1112 [Bohr model, popularization];
Kragh a1112/BHC
[Lars Vegard, first proposal of electron configurations for atoms, based on planar electron rings];
Baily EPJH(12)-a1208 [early atomic models, 1904-1913];
Demopoulos et al SHPMP(12) [Poincaré's 1912 essay];
Pérez & Pié a1502-proc [quantum mechanics and the atomistic hypothesis];
Bose CS-a1503 [atomic hypothesis];
in Clarke Isis(15) [modern physics and Hargreaves's 1921 paper];
> s.a. Stark Effect.
@ Magnetism: Verschuur 93;
Elliott PhyA(07);
Sparavigna MMSE-a1512
[Petrus Peregrinus of Maricourt and medieval knowledge of magnetism];
Singh a1807.
@ Electromagnetism: Buchwald 85;
Hendry 86 [Maxwell];
Kargon & Achinstein ed-87;
Whittaker 87;
Buchwald 89 [light];
Buchwald 94 [waves];
Dusek 99 [influence of holistic philosophies];
Darrigol 01 [Ampère to Einstein];
Jackson & Okun RMP(01)phy/00;
Smirnov-Rueda FP(05)phy [Hert'z experiments];
Hehl AdP(08)-a0807 [Minkowski's form of the Maxwell equations];
Mamone Capria & Manini a1111 [unification of electricity and magnetism];
Darrigol 12 [optics];
Rautio ieee(14)dec;
Kragh a1606 [Ludvig Lorenz];
Falconer SHPSA(17)-a1608 [Maxwell and Cavendish's null experiment];
Sparavigna a1609 [Vito Volterra's commemoration of Faraday];
Kragh a1803 [1867 Lorenz paper];
Natiello & Solari a1910 [and historical context];
Giuliani a2102 [electromagnetic induction];
> s.a. XIX-century physics; electromagnetic fields;
light; Lorentz Force.
@ Theoretical physics: Kline 85;
Jungnickel & McCormmach 86;
Schweber HSPS(86);
White AS(12)#3 [William Herschel's discovery of infrared radiation].
@ Solid state and technology: Eckert & Schubert 89;
Hoddeson et al 92;
Cahn 01 [materials science];
Gonzalo & Aragó López 03 [solid state];
Bethe & Mermin PT(04)jun [solid state and quantum mechanics].
@ Condensed matter:
news Guard(15)may [soft matter];
Martin AJP(17)feb,
PT(19)jan [in late 20th-century physics].
@ Fluid dynamics: Darrigol HSPBS(98) [Helmholtz];
Grimberg et al PhyD(08)-a0801 [d'Alembert's paradox and drag force];
Bistafa a1902 [Daniel Bernoulli's experiments];
> s.a. Superfluids.
Other areas:
see astronomy and astrophysics; molecular,
quantum, and nuclear physics; history
of particle physics; history of relativistic gravity.
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