Implications of quantum theory in the foundations of statistical mechanics
Abstract
An investigation is made into how the foundations of statistical mechanics are affected once we treat classical mechanics as an approximation to quantum mechanics in certain domains rather than as a theory in its own right; this is necessary if we are to understand statistical-mechanical systems in our own world. Relevant structural and dynamical differences are identified between classical and quantum mechanics (partly through analysis of technical work on quantum chaos by other authors). These imply that quantum mechanics significantly affects a number of foundational questions, including the nature of statistical probability and the direction of time.Author's Profile
Reprint years
2001
My notes
Similar books and articles
Quantum Information Theory & the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics.Christopher Gordon Timpson - 2004 - Oxford University Press.
Quantum Mechanics: Are There Quantum Jumps? Trieste, Italy, 5 Spetember -2005 and on the Present Status of Quantum Mechanics Lošinj, Croatia 7-9 September 2005. [REVIEW]Angelo Bassi (ed.) - 2006 - American Institute of Physics.
Does the Minimal Statistical Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics Resolve the Measurement Problem?Nicholas Maxwell - 1975 - Methodology and Science 8:84-101.
The foundations of quantum mechanics and the approach to thermodynamic equilibrium.David Z. Albert - 1994 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 45 (2):669-677.
Decoherence: The View from the History and the Philosophy of Science.Amit Hagar - 2012 - Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. London A 375 (1975).
Quantum Theory, Reconsideration of Foundations 4: Växjö (Sweden), 11-16 June, 2007.Guillaume Adenier (ed.) - 2007 - American Institute of Physics.
On the Classical Limit of Quantum Mechanics.Valia Allori & Nino Zanghì - 2008 - Foundations of Physics 10.1007/S10701-008-9259-4 39 (1):20-32.
Towards a Micro Realistic Version of Quantum Mechanics, Part II.Nicholas Maxwell - 1976 - Foundations of Physics 6 (6):661-676.
Analytics
Added to PP
2009-01-28
Downloads
218 (#58,248)
6 months
8 (#105,551)
2009-01-28
Downloads
218 (#58,248)
6 months
8 (#105,551)
Historical graph of downloads
Author's Profile
Citations of this work
Calling for explanation: the case of the thermodynamic past state.Dan Baras & Orly Shenker - 2020 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 10 (3):1-20.
Taking particle physics seriously: A critique of the algebraic approach to quantum field theory.David Wallace - 2010 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 42 (2):116-125.
Quantum probability from subjective likelihood: Improving on Deutsch's proof of the probability rule.David Wallace - 2007 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 38 (2):311-332.
In Defence of Naiveté: The Conceptual Status of Lagrangian Quantum Field Theory.David Wallace - 2006 - Synthese 151 (1):33-80.
References found in this work
What is structural realism?James Ladyman - 1998 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 29 (3):409-424.
Physics and Chance: Philosophical Issues in the Foundations of Statistical Mechanics.Lawrence Sklar - 1993 - Cambridge University Press.