Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Number Of Pages: 226
Publication Date: 2005-09-19
Sales Rank: 877134
ISBN / ASIN: 0521839114
EAN: 9780521839112
Binding: Hardcover
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
Studio: Cambridge University Press
Average Rating: 4
There is hardly another principle in physics with wider scope of applicability and more far-reaching consequences than Pauli's exclusion principle. This book explores the principle's origin in the atomic spectroscopy of the early 1920s, its subsequent embedding into quantum mechanics, and later experimental validation with the development of quantum chromodynamics. Reconstruction of the crucial historic episode provides an excellent foil to reconsider Kuhn's view on incommensurability. The variety of themes skillfully interwoven will appeal to philosophers, historians, scientists and anyone interested in philosophy.
Review:
could be difficult for a physicist to follow
Massimi covers both theoretical physics and philosophy in this book. In doing so, a physicist reader might well find herself treading water in parts of the text. If you thought you knew the Pauli Exclusion Principle, by the time you finish the book, you might be befuddled.
It's simply that Massimi looks at the Principle and its history in ways unfamiliar to most physicists. Not that he is wrong, but that the logic and terminology he uses are their own speciality. The pure physics parts of the book are straightforward to follow, and should be safe grounds for such readers.
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