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This book presents a collection of texts by the German physicist and philosopher Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912-2007), for use in seminars on the history, epistemology and structure of physics. Most texts appear in English for the first time. Weizsäcker became famous through his works in physics, mainly in the early development of nuclear physics. Later he would also become well known as a philosopher and analyst of contemporary culture. Texts include the original publications of the "Weizsäcker-Bethe formula" of nuclear masses and the "Bethe-Weizsäcker cycle," which explains the source of energy in the sun; both were developed by Bethe at the same time and independently of Weizsäcker. Further texts deal with Weizsäcker's explanation of the origin of planets, his explanation of the "time arrow" in Statistical Mechanics and his analyses of Quantum Mechanics and the structure of physics in general.
List of contents
Introduction.- On Elementary Transmutations in the Interior of Stars. Paper II.- The Formation of the Planetary System.- The History of Nature, Introduction.- The Second Law and the Difference between Past and Future.- A Sketch of the Unity of Physics.- Quantum Theory.- Probability and Abstract Quantum Theory.- The Philosophy of Alternatives.- Matter and Consciousness.- Matter, Energy, Information
About the author
Michael Drieschner, geb. 1939, Dipl.-Phys. 1964 in München, Promotion in Philosophie bei C.F. von Weizsäcker 1968 in Hamburg. 1970 bis 1978 am Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung der Lebensbedingungen der wissenschaftlich-technischen Welt (Starnberg), Arbeiten über Umweltfragen und Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik. Industrietätigkeit, 1980 Habilitation, Privatdozent an der Universität München. Seit 1986 Professor für Naturphilosophie an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum.
Summary
This book presents a collection of texts by the German physicist and philosopher Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912-2007), for use in seminars on the history, epistemology and structure of physics. Most texts appear in English for the first time. Weizsäcker became famous through his works in physics, mainly in the early development of nuclear physics. Later he would also become well known as a philosopher and analyst of contemporary culture. Texts include the original publications of the “Weizsäcker-Bethe formula” of nuclear masses and the “Bethe-Weizsäcker cycle,” which explains the source of energy in the sun; both were developed by Bethe at the same time and independently of Weizsäcker. Further texts deal with Weizsäcker’s explanation of the origin of planets, his explanation of the “time arrow” in Statistical Mechanics and his analyses of Quantum Mechanics and the structure of physics in general.
