Emergence in physics

By Batterman, Robert W.

The concept of emergence is closely connected with the notions of antireductionism, unpredictability, and novelty. In many cases these latter concepts are explicated in mereological terms: very crudely, ...

Effective field theories

An effective field theory is a quantum field theory that is taken to describe the physical world in a limited range of length scales. While a fabled final ...

Philosophy of nanoscience and nanotechnology

Nanoscience and nanotechnology are two interrelated fields of study centred on designing, synthesising, analysing, and investigating nanoscale materials, their properties, and their behaviours. Nanoscale materials are materials with ...

Physics, philosophy of

By Butterfield, Jeremy

The philosophy of physics forms a central discipline of the philosophy of science, which itself can claim to be central to metaphysics and epistemology (see Science, philosophy of). ...

Philosophy of econophysics

As its portmanteau naming implies, econophysics applies the concepts and methods of physics to economic systems. Given that economic phenomena are exhibited as emergent features of highly ...

Timelessness, metaphysics of

By Baron, Samuel

The metaphysics of timelessness focuses on the idea that time does not exist. To understand what this means, it is important to first gain a conceptual grip on ...

Computer simulations in science

Since the advent of digital computers around 1950, the method of computer simulation (simulation, for short) has enriched the repertoire of scientific methods. A computer simulation traces the ...