Thought experiments in the theory of relativity and in quantum mechanics: Their presence in textbooks and in popular science books

Science and Education

Volumn 16, Issue 3-5, 2007, Pages 353-370

  Velentzas, Athanasios ^a   Halkia, Krystallia ^a   Skordoulis, Constantine ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS   (Greece)

Author keywords

Popular physics books; Quantum mechanics; Relativity; Textbooks; Thought experiments

Indexed keywords

EID: 34248216480     PISSN: 09267220     EISSN: 15731901     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11191-006-9030-1     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Bohr, N.: 1949, Discussion with Einstein on epistemological problems in atomic physic, in P.A. Schilpp (ed.), Albert Einstein: Philosopher- Scientist, The library of Living Philosophers, Evanston, pp. 200-241.
2. Brown, J.: 1991, The Laboratory of the Mind, Thought Experiments in the Natural Sciences Routledge, London.
3. Einstein, A.: 1905/1952a, Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energy-content? In The Principle of Relativity, a collection of originals papers on the special and general theory of relativity, Dover, New York.
4. Einstein, A.: 1905/1952b, On the electrodynamics of moving bodies. In The Principle of Relativity, a collection of originals papers on the special and general theory of relativity, Dover, New York.
5. Einstein, A.: 1916/1952, The foundation of the general theory of relativity. In The Principle of Relativity, a collection of originals papers on the special and general theory of relativity, Dover, New York.
6. Einstein, A.: 1917/1961, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory, A popular Exposition, Grown publishers, New York.
7. Einstein, A.: 1949/1979, Autobiographical notes, Open Court Publishing Company.
8. Einstein, A. & Infeld, L.: 1938, The Evolution of Physics, Simon and Schuster, New York.
9. Einstein, A., Podolsky, B. & Rosen, N.: 1935, 'Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality be Considered Complete?', Physical Review 47, 777-780.
10. Galileo, G.: (translated by Crew H., Salvio A) 1638/1914, Dialogue Concerning Two New Sciences, Dover, New York.
11. Gamow, G.: 1966, Thirty years that shook Physics, Doubleday and Co.
12. Gamow, G.: 1990, Mr Tompkins in Paperback, Cambridge University Press.
13. Gendler, T.: 2000, Thought Experiments. In Thinking skills, pp. 388-394.
14. Gilbert, J. & Reiner, M.: 2000a, 'Thought Experiments in Science Education: Potential and Current Realization', International Journal of Science Education 22(3): 265-283.
15. Gilbert, J. & Reiner, M.: 2000b, 'Epistemological Resources for Thought Experimentation in Science Education', International Journal of Science Education 22(5): 489-506.
16. Halkia, K.: 2003, Teachers' views and attitudes towards the communication code and the rhetoric used in press science articles in (Psillos at. Al) Science Education Research in the Knowledge-based Society, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
17. Heisenberg, W.: 1930 (translation by Eckart C., Hoyt F., 1949), The Principles of the Quantum Theory, Dover, New York.
18. Helm, H., Gilbert, J. & Watts, D.M.: 1985, 'Thought Experiments and Physics Education - Part 2', Physics Education 20, 211-217.
19. Horowitz, T. & Massey, G.: 1991, Thought Experiments in Science and Philosophy, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, USA.
20. Koyre, A.: 1968, Metaphysics and Measurement, Chapman & Hall, London.
21. Kuhn, T.: 1977, A function of thought experiments, in T. Kuhn (ed.), The Essential Tension Selected Studies in Scientific Tradition and Change, Chicago University Press, pp. 240-265.
22. Landau, L. & Rumer, Y.: 1959, What is Relativity?, Basic Books, New York.
23. Lattery, M.: 2001, 'Thought Experiments in Physics Education: A Simple and Practical Example', Science and Education 10(5): 485-492.
24. Mach, E.: 1896/1976, On thought experiment, in E. Mach, Knowledge and Error (translation 1926 by Cormack T. and Foulkes P.) (Dordrecht: Reidel, 1976), pp. 134-147.
25. Matthews, M.: 1994, Thought experiments, in M. Matthews (ed.), Science Teaching The Role of History and Philosophy of Science., Routledge, New York-London, pp. 99-105.
26. Maxwell, J.: 1871/ 2001, Theory of Heat, Dover, New York.
27. Miller, A.: 1996, Insights of Genius, Imagery and Creativity in Science and Art, Copernicus (an imprint of Springer-Verlag 1996), New York.
28. Nersessian, N.: 1993, 'In the Theoretician's Laboratory: Thought Experimenting as Mental Modeling', Proceedings of the Biennial Meetings of the Philosophy of Science Association 2, 291-301.
29. Newton, I.: 1729/1962a (translated by Motte A.), Mathematical principles of natural philosophy and his system of the world, Volume I: The Motion of Bodies, University of California press.
30. Newton, I.: 1729/ 1962b (translated by Motte A.), Mathematical principles of natural philosophy and his system of the world, Volume 2: The System of the World, University of California press.
31. Norton, J.: 1991, Thought Experiments in Einstein's Work, in T. Horowitz and G. Massey (eds.). Thought Experiments in Science and Philosophy, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, USA.
32. Popper, K.: 1959, On the Use of Imaginary Experiments Especially in Quantum Theory, in K. Popper (ed.), The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Routledge, New York-London, pp. 442-456.
33. Reiner, M.: 1998, 'Thought Experiments and Collaborative Learning in Physics', International Journal of Science Education 20(9): 1043-1058.
34. Reiner, M. & Burko, L.: 2003, On the Limitations of Thought Experiments in Physics and the Consequences for Physics Education. Science & Education 12, 358-385.
35. Schrödinger, E.: 1935, Die Gegenwartige Situation in der Quantenmechanik, Die Naturwissenchaften 23, 807-812, 823-828, 844-849.
36. (In English "The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics" in Wheeler and Zurek, 1983, 152-167).
37. Sorensen, R.: 1992, Thought Experiments, Oxford University Press, New York and London.
38. Stannard, R.: 1991, Black Hole and Uncle Albert, Faber and Faber, London.
39. Stannard, R.: 2001, 'Communication Physics Through Story', Physics Education 36(1): 30-34.
40. Wellington, J.: 1991, 'Newspaper Science, School Science: Friends or Enemies?', International Journal Science Education 13(4): 363-372.