Laws of Nature
The book is concerned with the laws of nature and in particular with the laws of physics. The authors discuss three important questions: First, whether the observed regularities are based on strict "laws of nature" that hold rigorously and without any exc
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P. Mittelstaedt P.A. Weingartner
Laws of Nature
ABC
Prof. Dr. Peter Mittelstaedt
Prof. Dr. Paul A. Weingartner
Institut für Theoretische Physik Universität zu Köln Zülpicher Str. 77 50937 Köln Germany e-mail: [email protected]
Institut für Philosophie Universität Salzburg Franziskanergasse 1 5020 Salzburg Austria e-mail: [email protected]
Library of Congress Control Number: 2005927735 ISBN-10 3-540-24079-9 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York ISBN-13 978-3-540-24079-2 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law. Springer is a part of Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005 Printed in Germany The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Typesetting: by the authors and TechBooks using a Springer LATEX macro package Cover design: Erich Kirchner, Heidelberg Printed on acid-free paper
SPIN: 11329053
55/JVG
543210
Preface
This book is not a textbook to become acquainted with the laws of nature. An elementary knowledge about laws of nature, in particular the laws of physics, is presupposed. The book is rather intended to provide a clarification of concepts and properties of the laws of nature. The authors would like to emphasise that this book has been developed – created – as a real teamwork. Although the chapters (and in some cases parts of the chapters) were originally written by one of the two authors, all of them were discussed thoroughly and in detail and have been revised and complemented afterwards. Even if both authors were in agreement on most of the foundational issues discussed in the book, they did not feel it necessary to balance every viewpoint. Thus some individual and personal difference or emphasis will still be recognisable from the chapters written by the different authors. In this sense the authors feel specifically responsible for the chapters as follows: Mittelstaedt for Chaps. 4, 9.3, 10, 11.2, 12, 13 and Weingartner for Chaps. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8.2, 9.2, 9.4. The remaining parts are joint sections. Most of the chapters are formulated as questions and they begin with arguments pro and contra. Then a detailed answer is proposed which contains a systematic discussion of the question. This is the respective main part of the chapter. It sometimes be
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