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Category Archives: AUC-Big Questions in Science
What is the philosophy of physics?
Physics and its philosophy Physics is the search for a mathematical model which describes the phenomena around us. New physics usually starts with observing something that cannot be explained, after which a hypothesis is formulated which explains the observations. The … Continue reading
Verloren hoofdstuk: ‘Newton, Astronoom of Astroloog?’
Het is dan eindelijk zover: vanaf deze week ligt mijn boek “Op zoek naar de grenzen van de natuurkunde” in de boekhandel! Door het gedoe rondom corona zal er geen officiële boekpresentatie plaatsvinden, maar dat betekent natuurlijk niet dat de … Continue reading
“Op zoek naar de grenzen van de natuurkunde”
In mei gaat Prometheus mijn boek “Op zoek naar de grenzen van de natuurkunde” publiceren. Een mooie kans om al je zorgen even van je af te zetten en helemaal op te gaan in diepe gedachten over wetenschap en filosofie. … Continue reading
Posted in AUC-Big Questions in Science, Philosophy of Physics, Uncategorized
Tagged Fedde Benedictus, filosofie, prometheus, wetenschap
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Irrational Happiness
When I started writing this blogpost a week ago, I wrote this: “When times are as difficult and unpredictable as they are today, I find comfort in mathematics. No matter how things turn out, how many more difficulties come our … Continue reading
A Quantum Leap of Faith
Earlier today, one of my students asked me this: “So in quantum mechanics an electron can be in different orbits around a positively charged nucleus, and each of these orbits require different levels of kinetic energy for the electron. Electrons … Continue reading
Galilean Relativity
At the basis of Newtonian mechanics lies an idea we call galilean relativity, which is the idea that different observers will come up with the same laws of motion as long as their reference frames are not accelerating relative to … Continue reading
Why is Schrödinger’s cat not just dead OR alive?
In quantum theory there is a thought experiment called Schrödinger’s cat-experiment. The idea of the experiment is that there is a cat in a closed box (don’t try this at home or at all!) together with a flask filled with … Continue reading
Posted in AUC-Big Questions in Science
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On the curvature of beer coasters and spheres
I told a friend of mine, Josh, about the course I am teaching at Amsterdam University College. I told Josh that in last week’s class we treated Albert Einstein and his relativity theories, and how whoppingly strange it is to … Continue reading
Posted in AUC-Big Questions in Science
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