Are Virtual Quanta Nothing but Formal Tools?
International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 25 (1):39 - 53 (2011)
| Abstract |
The received view in philosophical studies of quantum field theory is that Feynman diagrams are simply calculational devices. Alongside this view we have the one that takes virtual quanta to be also simply formal tools. This received view was developed and consolidated in philosophy of physics by Mario Bunge, Paul Teller, Michael Redhead, Robert Weingard, Brigitte Falkenburg, and others. In this article I present an alternative to the received view
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| Keywords | Quantum electrodynamics Quanta Philosophy of physics |
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| DOI | 10.1080/02698595.2011.552417 |
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References found in this work BETA
An Interpretive Introduction to Quantum Field Theory.Paul Teller - 1995 - Princeton University Press.
Inward Bound: Of Matter and Forces in the Physical World.Abraham Pais - 1986 - Oxford University Press.
Why Feynman Diagrams Represent.Letitia Meynell - 2008 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 22 (1):39 – 59.
Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Field Theory.Harvey R. Brown & Rom Harré (eds.) - 1988 - Oxford University Press.
QED and the Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga.Silvan S. Schweber - 1995 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 46 (4):624-627.
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