22,870 research outputs found
Editorial: Creating the Future
Editorial to a special edition of 'Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy': Creating the Future, December, 2018
Editorial: Regaining Sanity
This is the editorial to the special edition of Cosmos and History on 'Regaining Sanity'
String and M-theory: answering the critics
Using as a springboard a three-way debate between theoretical physicist Lee
Smolin, philosopher of science Nancy Cartwright and myself, I address in
layman's terms the issues of why we need a unified theory of the fundamental
interactions and why, in my opinion, string and M-theory currently offer the
best hope. The focus will be on responding more generally to the various
criticisms. I also describe the diverse application of string/M-theory
techniques to other branches of physics and mathematics which render the whole
enterprise worthwhile whether or not "a theory of everything" is forthcoming.Comment: Update on EPSRC. (Contribution to the Special Issue of Foundations of
Physics: "Forty Years Of String Theory: Reflecting On the Foundations",
edited by Gerard 't Hooft, Erik Verlinde, Dennis Dieks and Sebastian de Haro.
22 pages latex
One Hundred Years of the Cosmological Constant: from 'Superfluous Stunt' to Dark Energy
We present a centennial review of the history of the term known as the
cosmological constant. First introduced to the general theory of relativity by
Einstein in 1917 in order to describe a universe that was assumed to be static,
the term fell from favour in the wake of the discovery of the expanding
universe, only to make a dramatic return in recent times. We consider
historical and philosophical aspects of the cosmological constant over four
main epochs: (i) the use of the term in static cosmologies (both Newtonian and
relativistic); (ii) the marginalization of the term following the discovery of
cosmic expansion; (iii) the use of the term to address specific cosmic puzzles
such as the timespan of expansion, the formation of galaxies and the redshifts
of the quasars; (iv) the re-emergence of the term in today's Lamda-CDM
cosmology. We find that the cosmological constant was never truly banished from
theoretical models of the universe, but was sidelined by astronomers for
reasons of convenience. We also find that the return of the term to the
forefront of modern cosmology did not occur as an abrupt paradigm shift due to
one particular set of observations, but as the result of a number of empirical
advances such as the measurement of present cosmic expansion using the Hubble
Space Telescope, the measurement of past expansion using type SN 1a supernovae
as standard candles, and the measurement of perturbations in the cosmic
microwave background by balloon and satellite. We give a brief overview of
contemporary interpretations of the physics underlying the cosmic constant and
conclude with a synopsis of the famous cosmological constant problem.Comment: 60 pages, 6 figures. Some corrections, additions and extra
references. Accepted for publication the European Physical Journal (H
Artkino Pictures Argentina: a Window to the Communist Europe in Buenos Aires Screens (1954-1970)
The aim of this paper is to study a specific aspect of the Communist foreign propaganda policy in Latin America: its cThe aim of this paper is to study a specific aspect of the Communist foreign propaganda policy in Latin America: its cultural influence through the export of films. Renewed after Stalin´s death, Soviet cultural propaganda concentrated on gaining the favour of foreign public. Particularly in Argentina, several propaganda techniques were implemented. Although the export of films was just one of them, it soon became very successful thanks to the collaboration of a local cultural mediator, the film distribution company Artkino Pictures, as well as its owner and founder, Argentino Vainikoff. His expertise in the field actually gained him a new business deal with Czechoslovak filmography, which somewhat contested USSR imagery. In all, here –with the aid of oral history as well as contemporary press analysis– we argue that Artkino´s role in the import of an idealised imaginary of Communism was crucial and had a particularly strong impact on middle-class citizens of the cultural and artistic regional centre that Buenos Aires was in the 1950s and 1960s, and from where all Latin America, as the Soviets soon acknowledged, could be reached.ultural influence through the export of films. Renewed after Stalin´s death, Soviet cultural propaganda concentrated on gaining the favour of foreign public. Particularly in Argentina, several propaganda techniques were implemented. Although the export of films was just one of them, it soon became very successful thanks to the collaboration of a local cultural mediator, the film distribution company Artkino Pictures, as well as its owner and founder, Argentino Vainikoff. His expertise in the field actually gained him a new business deal with Czechoslovak filmography, which somewhat contested USSR imagery. In all, here –with the aid of oral history as well as contemporary press analysis– we argue that Artkino´s role in the import of an idealised imaginary of Communism was crucial and had a particularly strong impact on middle-class citizens of the cultural and artistic regional centre that Buenos Aires was in the 1950s and 1960s, and from where all Latin America, as the Soviets soon acknowledged, could be reached.Fil: Galván, Maria Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana ; ArgentinaFil: Zourek, Michal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto de Historia Argentina y Americana ; Argentina. Institute of Technology and Business in ÄŚeskĂ© BudÄ›jovice; RepĂşblica Chec
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