Learning objectives
Illustrate through history the basic concepts of classical physics and also the essence of the scientific method and the connections of scientific thought with other aspects of culture.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course regards the origin of classical physics in the 17th and 18th centuries, with an introduction to the aspects of physics and to its methods and aims.Aspects of Physics and the History of Science:Development of the scientific method - Structure of physics - Empirical and theoretical terms - Physical laws - Principles - Methodological principles and heuristic principles - The principle of induction - Realism and positivism - Causality: Contiguity and antecedence - The principle of sufficient reason and symmetries - Science in western culture - Science and technology - The organization of scientific research and scientist's responsability - Ideologies and myths in the history of science.The Origin of Classical Physics:The scientific revolution - Astronomical models - The Ptolemaic versus Copernican system debate - Galileo and the telescope - The principle of inertia and the principle of relativity - Fall of bodies and trajectory of projectiles - Newton's Principia - Space, time and matter - The theory of gravitation and the unification of celestial physics with terrestrial physics - The first successes of the experimental method - Theories on the nature of light in Newton's time - The development of mechanics - The Baconian sciences.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Cassirer : ' Determinismo e indeterminismo'F.Enriques: ' Natura, ragione e storia'J.Losee: ' Introduzione storica alla filosofia della scienza'R.Feynman: ' La legge fisica'M:Born: ' Filosofia naturale della causalità e del caso'M.Kline: ' La matematica nella cultura occidentale'R.Fieschi: ' L'invenzione tecnologica'L.S.Feuer: ' L'intellettuale scientifico'P.Kapitsa: ' L'avvenire della scienza'P.Medawar: ' L'immaginazione scientifica'A.Koire: ' Dal mondo chiuso all'universo infinito'E.J.Dijksterhuis: ' Il meccanicismo e l'immagine del mondo'B.Carazza: ' Da Galileo a Einstein' parte I
Teaching methods
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Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination
Other information
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