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On The Dynamics Of Perez Lauraudogoitia's Supertask

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Abstract

The supertasks described by Perez Laraudogoitia, involving the dynamics of a system containing an infinite number of particles in a bounded region of space, are characterized by the nonconservation of energy and by the spontaneous motion of particles (“self-excitation”'). We argue that these features arise from the inadequacy of the local, particle-by-particle description used to analyze the supertasks. A global analysis, involving embeddings in Hilbert spaces, clarifies these supertasks and avoids what we regard as their nonphysical features.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, U.S.A.

    Mark Bridger

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Boston, MA, 02125, U.S.A.

    Joseph S. Alper

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  1. Mark Bridger
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  2. Joseph S. Alper
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Bridger, M., Alper, J.S. On The Dynamics Of Perez Lauraudogoitia's Supertask. Synthese 119, 325–337 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005222924655

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