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Infinite Systems in SM Explanations: Thermodynamic Limit, Renormalization (semi-) Groups, and Irreversibility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Chuang Liu
Chuang Liu*
Affiliation:
University of Florida
*
†Send requests for reprints to the author, Department of Philosophy, University of Florida, 330 Griffin-Floyd Hall, P.O. Box 118545, Gainesville, FL 32611–8545; e-mail: cliu@phil.ufl.edu.
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Abstract

This paper examines the justifications for using infinite systems to ‘recover’ thermodynamic properties, such as phase transitions (PT), critical phenomena (CP), and irreversibility, from the micro-structure of matter in bulk. Section 2 is a summary of such rigorous methods as in taking the thermodynamic limit (TL) to recover PT and in using renormalization (semi-) group approach (RG) to explain the universality of critical exponents. Section 3 examines various possible justifications for taking TL on physically finite systems. Section 4 discusses the legitimacy of applying TL to the problem of irreversibility and assesses the repercussions for its legitimacy on its home turf.

Type
Statistical Mechanics
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 68 , Issue S3: No. 3 Supplement: Proceedings of the 2000 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association. Part I: Contributed Papers Sep., 2001 , 2001 , pp. S325 - S344
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 2001

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Footnotes

‡

I would like to thank Gérard Emch for discussions on topics I deal with in this paper. I would also like to thank Bob Batterman and Craig Callender for questions and comments on an earlier draft. This paper is supported in part by a NSF grant (SES-9910889).

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