dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaScience and exile: David Bohm, the hot times of the Cold War, and his struggle for a new interpretation of quantum mechanics
| Authors | Olival Freire Jr |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0508184 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0508184 |
| Journal | A slightly modified version was published in HSPS, 36(1), 1-34, 2005 |
Abstract
This article focuses on the reception among physicists of Bohm's 1952 papers on the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics, which were poorly received at the time. I describe his Brazilian exile and analyze the culture of physics surrounding the foundations of quantum mechanics. I take into account the strength of the Copenhagen interpretation among physicists, the way in which issues concerning the foundations of quantum mechanics were present in the training of physicists, the low status of these issues on research agendas, and the kind of results Bohm and collaborators were able to achieve. I also compare the reception of Bohm's ideas with that of Hugh Everett's interpretation and argue that the obstacles growing from the cultural context of physics at that time had a more significant influence in the reception of Bohm's ideas than did the vicissitudes related to the McCarthyist climate.
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"abstract": "This article focuses on the reception among physicists of Bohm\u0027s 1952 papers\non the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics, which were poorly received\nat the time. I describe his Brazilian exile and analyze the culture of physics\nsurrounding the foundations of quantum mechanics. I take into account the\nstrength of the Copenhagen interpretation among physicists, the way in which\nissues concerning the foundations of quantum mechanics were present in the\ntraining of physicists, the low status of these issues on research agendas, and\nthe kind of results Bohm and collaborators were able to achieve. I also compare\nthe reception of Bohm\u0027s ideas with that of Hugh Everett\u0027s interpretation and\nargue that the obstacles growing from the cultural context of physics at that\ntime had a more significant influence in the reception of Bohm\u0027s ideas than did\nthe vicissitudes related to the McCarthyist climate.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0508184",
"authors": [
"Olival Freire Jr"
],
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"physics.hist-ph"
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"journal_ref": "A slightly modified version was published in HSPS, 36(1), 1-34,\n 2005",
"title": "Science and exile: David Bohm, the hot times of the Cold War, and his struggle for a new interpretation of quantum mechanics",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0508184"
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