TWOSCHOOLSOFTHOUGHTINTHEREVOLUTIONINPHYSI.docx
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TWOSCHOOLSOFTHOUGHTINTHEREVOLUTIONINPHYSI.docx
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TWOSCHOOLSOFTHOUGHTINTHEREVOLUTIONINPHYSI
TWOSCHOOLSOFTHOUGHTINTHEREVOLUTIONINPHYSI
Therevolutioninphysicsattheendofthenineteenthandthebeginningofthetwentiethcenturieswasasignificanteventinboththehistoryofscienceandthehistoryofphilosophy.Variousschoolsofphilosophyhaveinterpretedthiseventdifferently.Naturally,thisisofconcerntoMarxistphilosophy.Basedonrelativelyrichoriginalsources,thisarticleanalyzesthehistoricalrole,philosophicalorigin,andendresultoftwoschoolsinthisrevolution,theMechanicalSchoolandCriticalSchool.Theauthoroffersaninterpretationwhichdiffersfromthetraditionalone,especiallywiththerespecttotheCriticalSchool.Thispaperisintendedtopromoteacademicdiscussion,tofurtherexplorethephilosophicsignificanceofthisscientificrevolution,andtoenrichteachingandresearchinnaturaldialectics.
Fromthebeginningoftheeighteenthcentury,physicistscametoregardNewtonianmechanicsastheresearchprogramforallfieldsofphysics,totheextentthatitbecamethesupremeauthorityandultimatestandardofscientificinterpretation.Untiltheendofthenineteenthcentury,physicistsalmostuniversallybelievedthatallphysicalphenomenacouldbeexplainedfromtheperspectiveofmechanics.
However,theendofthenineteenthcenturywitnessedacontinuousstreamofnewexperimentsanddiscoverieswhichseverelyshookthefoundationsofphysics,leadingtoacrisis.Undersuchcircumstances,somephysicistscametodoubttheuniversalapplicationandabsolutereliabilityoftheclassicaltheory.Oneafteranother,theybegantocriticizethebasicconceptsandprincipleswithinclassicalmechanicsandtochallengethedominantmechanisticviewpoint.Thus,persityreplacedunity,andphysicistsformedschoolswhichdifferedfromeachotherevenintheirbasicguidingideologies.SomescholarshavepidedthemintotheEnergeticSchool,theMechanicalSchool,and,intermediatebetweenthese,theCriticalSchool.OthershaveidentifiedthemastheRealistandSymbolicSchools.IwouldliketoclassifythemintotheMechanicalSchoolandtheCriticalSchool,basedonthedifferentattitudestowardclassicalmechanics.
SomepreviouspublicationsintheSovietUnion,EasternEurope,JapanandChinahavetendedtooveremphasizetheMechanicalSchoolandbelittletheCriticalSchool,evenentirelydenyingitsroleinthedevelopmentofphysics.Ithinkthisisnotentirelyaccurate.Thisarticleundertakesapreliminaryexaminationanddiscussionofthisissue,basedonthehistoricalcontextandrelevantoriginalsources.
I.TwoHistoricalRoles
Whatroledideachofthesetwoschoolsplayattheturnofthecenturyduringthecrisisinphysicsandthebeginningoftherevolution?
First,itmustbenotedthattheMechanicalSchool,whichpossessedanabsolutesuperiorityinnumbers,madeindeliblecontributionstothedevelopmentofclassicalphysics.Anearlyrepresentativeofthisschool,G.R.Kirchhoff,didextensiveworkinelectricityandspectralanalysis.In1859heproposedthelawofcavityradiation,whichwasanimportantmilestoneinresearchonheatradiation.H.vonHelmholtzmadeoutstandingcontributionstothermodynamicsandelectricity.In1847hepublishedanimportantbook,UberdieErhaltungderkraft,aboutenergyconservationandconversion.J.C.Maxwellcontributedtothermodynamics,optics,molecularphysics,thetheoryofthecharacteristicsoffluids,etc.Inparticular,heproposedthedistributionlawofmolecularmotionandthelawofequipartitionofenergyin1859,andtheelectromagneticfieldequationsin1864,whichformedthetheoreticalfoundationsforstatisticalmechanicsandelectromagneticsm.L.Boltzmann,whowasstillactiveinphysicsattheturnofthecentury,alsogreatlycontributedtothedevelopmentofkinetictheory,thermodynamics,andstatisticalmechanics.Hisprobabilisticexplanationofthesecondlawofthermodynamicsiswellknown.LordRayleighmadeachievementsinacousticsandvibration,opticaltheory,heatradiation,etc.LordKelvin,aveteraninphysics,contributedtremendouslytotheoreticalandexperimentalinvestigationsofheatandelectricity.Lorentzdevotedhimselftoresearchonelectronictheoryfrom1875.ElectronTheory,whichhepublishedin1909,wasthelastgreatedificeofclassicaltheory.Obviously,thecontributionsoftheCriticalSchooltoclassicalphysicscannotbecomparedtothoseoftheMechanicalSchool.Thelatterdevelopedclassicaltheorytoperfection,inadvertentlyprovidingthenecessaryconditionsforthecomingrevolutioninphysics.
However,theMechanicalSchoolalsoinherited“thefanaticismthatreduceseverythingtomechanicalmotion.”1In1847Helmholtzasserted,“Weeventuallyfindthatallquestionsrelatedtophysicscanbereducedtogravitationandrepulsion…Themissionofphysicsendswiththesimplificationofallnaturalphenomenaintoforce.”2Ontheonehand,Maxwellshookthebeliefthatmechanicsistheultimatefoundationofallphysicswiththetheoryofelectromagnetism.Ontheotherhand,theytriedeverymeanstostufftheirtheoryintotheframeworkofmechanics.
Bytheendofthenineteenthcentury,experimentalevidence,suchasMichelson’sexperiment,thespecificheatofpolyatomicgasesandsolids,thephotoelectriceffect,blackbodyradiation,atomicspectra,andparticularlythediscoveryandresearchonradiationafter1895,hadprofoundlyshakenthewholefoundationofphysics.Nevertheless,theMechanicalSchoolstillcherishedthebasicconceptsandprinciplesofclassicaltheorywithinthe“treasurebox”of“absolutes,”claimingthattheyareanunalterable“sacredheritage.”3
ThecelebratedKelvinwaskeenlyinterestedintheconstructionofmechanicalmodelsoftheether.In1884heproclaimed,“IneversatisfymyselfuntilIcanmakeamechanicalmodelofathing.”4In1890,hesuggestedthatelectricaleffectsarecausedbythetranslationalmovementofether,thatmagneticphenomenacanbeexplainedbytherotationofether,andthatlightistheresultofwavyvibrationswithintheether.In1907,inthelastpublicappearancebeforehisdeath,hestillsupportedtheviewthateverycubicmillimeterinspacecontainsathousandtonsofethermass.Kelvinwasoftensuspiciousofnewdiscoveriesandtheoriesinphysicsandwasparticularlyopposedtothetheoryofthetransmutationofelements.InAugustof1906,attheageof82,hestubbornlyinsistedthatradiumoriginallycontainsheliumandthereforetheproductionofheliumfromradiumcannotjustifythetheoryofthetransmutationofelements,atheorycleverlyfabricatedsolelyforthepurposeofexplainingthepropertiesofradium.Healsoattributedtheenergyofthesuntogravity,opposingexplanationswhichreferredtotransmutation.
AlthoughLorentzactivelyparticipatedinfrontierresearchinseveralareasofphysicsattheturnofthecentury,hetriedveryhardtoreviseoldtheoriesandtomediatebetweenmechanicsandelectrodynamicswithoutviolatingtheframeworkofclassicaltheories.However,Michelson’s1887experimentrejectedFresnel’sstationaryethertheory,aprerequisiteofelectromagnetictheory,thusattackingitsmechanicalfoundation.Lorentzwasupsetandgloomy,writinginalettertoRayleighin1892,“Isimplydon’tknowhowtogetridofthiscontradiction,butIstillbelievethatifwehavetodiscardFresnel’stheory,…wewillneverhaveanappropriatetheory.”5Inthesameyear,heproposedthecontractionhypothesistoresolvethedilemma.In1904,followingPoincare’ssuggestion,heobtainedthelawofcorrespondingstatesapplicabletoeffectsatallordersandintroducedthemathematicaltransformationswhicharenamedafterhim.Lorentz’stheorywasverysimilarinmathematicalformtothespecialtheoryofrelativity,butitdifferedfundamentallyinphysicalexplanation,lackingathoroughredefinitionoftraditionalconceptsofspaceandtime.Eveninhislateryears,Lorentzcontinuedtobelievethattheetherconceptpossessescertainadvantages.M.Bornrecalled,“whenIvisitedLorentzseveralyearsbeforehedied,hissuspicionofrelativityremainedunchanged.”6AccordingtoS.Sakata’srecollection,Lorentz,facingthenewconceptofwaveparticleduality,despairinglylamented,
Peoplenowadayssuggestideaswhicharejusttheoppositeofyesterday’s.Thus,there’snocriterionfortruth.Nooneknowswhatscienceis.IreallyregretthatIdidn’tdiefiveyearsago,beforethesecontradictionsappeared.7
otherrepresentativesoftheMechanicalSchoolbehavedsimilarly.Evenin1902,Boltzmannstillpubliclyasserted,“Mechanicsisthefoundationonwhichthewholeedificeoftheoreticalphysicsisbuilt,therootfromwhichallotherbranchesofsciencespring.”8Rayleighcarefullyanalyzedthecontradictionsbetweengaseousspecificheatexperimentsandtheclassicalenergyequipartitiontheory.Hepointedoutthatexperimentsdestroythetheory’s“simplicityofcalculation.”Atthesametime,headmitted,”itseemsthatthehopeistoavoiddestroyingthesimplicityofthiswidelyacceptedconclusion,energyequipartition.”9Unwillingtobreakthebondsoftheoldframework,healsotiredhardapplytheenergyequipartitiontheorytotheethermodelinordertoexplainblackbodyradiation.Evenatthe1911Solvayconference,hemaintainedanegativeattitudetowardtheeleven-year-oldquantumtheory.
TherepresentativesoftheCriticalSchoolareE.Mach,H.Poincare,P.Duhem,W.Ostwald,andKarlPearson.TheirattitudesdifferedcompletelyfromthoseoftheMechanicalSchool,andtheappearedveryearlyasreformists.
In1883MachpublishedhishistoricworkTheScienceofMechanics:
aCriticalandHistoricalAccoun
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