Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:35:25.423Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Recent Changes in the Concept of Matter: How Does ‘Elementary Particle’ Mean?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

K. S. Shrader-Frechette
K. S. Shrader-Frechette*
Affiliation:
University of Louisville
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

“How does a poem mean?” asked John Ciardi, noted poet and critic (1959, p. 663). Because he was convinced that “there will never be a complete system for understanding poetry,” Ciardi urged his Harvard and Rutgers students to discover “the total experience” of a poem and never to look merely for what it means (1959, p. 666).

Like a good poem, the total meaning of the concept of matter always eludes us. As Heisenberg put it: what we know is not nature itself, but “nature exposed to our method of questioning.” (Cited in Capra 1975, p. 126). For this reason, and because high-energy physics is in a state of rapid development, it would be presumptuous to attempt to say what matter or elementary particles are (See Woodruff 1963, p. 578). Moreover this “what” question is more properly a scientific one, about the correct referents of a specific theory of matter. “How does ‘matter’ mean?” or “how does ‘elementary particle’ mean?” is more properly a philosophical question.

Type
Part X. Time, Causation and Matter
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1980 , Issue 1: Volume One: Contributed Papers 1980 , 1980 , pp. 302 - 316
Copyright
Copyright © 1980 by the Philosophy of Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Applequist, T., Barnett, R., and Lane, K. (1978). “Charm and Beyond.” In Jackson et al. (1978). Pages 397–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avre, C., Gustafson, H., and Jones, L. (1976). “Search for New Massive Long-Lived Neutral Particles.” Physical Review Letters 37: 474–77.Google Scholar
Barut, A. (1967). The Theory of the Scattering Matrix. New York: MacMillan.Google Scholar
Bowman, P. (1970). “Comment.” In Stuewer (1970). Pages 364-73.Google Scholar
Brown, L. (1978). “The Idea of the Neutrino.” Physics Today 31 (No. 9): 23–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Capra, F. (1975). The Tao of Physics. New York: Bantam.Google Scholar
Cence, R., Dobson, P., Pakvasa, S., and Tuan, S. (eds.). (1978). Proceedings of the Seventh Hawaii Topical Conference in Particle Physics. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii.Google Scholar
Chandrasekhar, S. (1979). “Beauty and the Quest for Beauty in Science.” Physics Today 32 (No. 7): 25–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chew, G. (1966). “Crisis for the Elementary Particle Concept.” University of California Radiation Laboratory Reprint. No. 17137: 1–12.Google Scholar
Chupka, W., Stevens, C., and Schiffer, J. (1976). “Search for Fractionally Charged Particles in Lunar Soil.” Physical Review D 14: 716-27.Google Scholar
Ciardi, J. (1959). “How Does a Poem Mean?” In Introduction to Literature. Edited by Barrows, H., H. Heffner, Ciardi, J. and Douglas, W. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Pages 663-77.Google Scholar
Cline, D., Mann, A., and Rubbia, C. (1976). “The Search for New Families of Elementary Particles.” Scientific American 234 (No. 1): 44–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, P., and Yildiz, H. (1977). “Heavy Leptons in Trimuon Events.” Physical Review D 16: 2897–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, D., and Sacton, J. (1967). “Hypernuclear Physics.” In High Energy Physics, 2. Edited by Burhop, E. New York: Academic. Pages 365–455.Google Scholar
Drell, S. (1978). “When is a Particle?” Physics Today 31(No. 6): 23–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, S., and Kislinger, M. (1974). “Implications of Parton-Model Concepts are Large-Tranverse-Momentum Production of Hadrons.” Physical Review D 9: 2027-51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feinberg, G. (1977). What is the World Made of? Garden City, New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Flanagan, D. (1977). “Proliferating Quarks.” Scientific American 237Google Scholar
Frauenfelder, H., and Henley, E. (1974). Subatomic Physics. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Gale, G. (1971a). Leibniz: The Physicist as Philosopher. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Gale, G. (1971b). “The Physical System of Leibniz.” Studia Leibnitiana 2: 114–27.Google Scholar
Gale, G. (1973). “Forces and Particles: Concepts Again in Conflict.” Journal of College Science Teaching 3: 29–35.Google Scholar
Gale, G. (1974). “Chew's Monadology.” Journal of the History of Ideas 35: 339–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galik, R., Jordan, C., Richter, B., Seppi, E., Siemann, R., and Ecklund, S. (1974). “Search for Fractionally-Charged Particles Photoproduced from Copper.” Physical Review D: 1856-63.Google Scholar
Gaston, J. (1973). Originality and Competition in Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Gell-Mann, M. and Ne'eman, Y. (1964). The Eightfold Way. New York: W.A. Benjamin.Google Scholar
Gibson, S. and Pollard, B. (1976). Symmetry Principles in Elementary Particle Physics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Glashow, S. (1975). “Quarks With Color and Flavor.” Scientific American 233 (No. 4): 38–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glashow, S. (1978). “Theoretical Ideas About Charm and the Theory of Flavor Mixing.” In Cence et al. (1978). Pages 155–226.Google Scholar
Goldhaber, A. and Heckman, H. (1978). “High Energy Interactions of Nuclei,” In Jackson et al. (1978). Pages 161–205.Google Scholar
Greenberg, O. (1978). “Quarks.” In Jackson et al. (1978). Pages 327-86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanson, N. (1963a). “The Dematerialization of Matter.” In McMullin (1963). Pages 549-61.Google Scholar
Hanson, N. (1963b). “Discussion.” In McMullin (1963). Pages 570-73.Google Scholar
Heisenberg, W. (1976), “The Nature of Elementary Particles.” Physics Today 29 (No. 3): 32–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hesse, M. (1967). “Ether.” Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. 3. Edited by Edwards, P. New York: Macmillan. Pages 66–69.Google Scholar
Holton, G. (1978). The Scientific Imagination: Case Studies. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jackson, J., Gove, H., and Schwitters, R. (eds.). (1978). Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science, 28. Palo Alto: Annual Reviews.Google Scholar
Kallén, G. (1964). Elementary Particle Physics. London: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Kantorovich, A. (1973). “Structure of Hadron Matter: Hierarchy, Democracy, or Potentiality?” Foundations of Physics 3: 335–402CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kokkedee, J. (1969). The Quark Model. New York: Benjamin.Google Scholar
Lannutti, J., and Williams, P. (eds.). (1978). Current Trends in the Theory of Fields: AIP Conference Proceedings. New York: American Institute of Physics.Google Scholar
Leon, M. (1973). Particle Physics. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lubkin, G. (1974). “Colliding-Beam Results Upset Quark Advocates.” Physics Today 27 (No. 3): 17,20.Google Scholar
Lubkin, G. (1975). “Mixed Reception for Magnetic Monopole Announcement.” Physics Today 28 (No. 10): 17–20.Google Scholar
Lubkin, G. (1977a). “Evidence Grows for Charged Heavy Lepton at 1.8-2.0 GeV.” Physics Today 30 (No. 11): 17,19,20.Google Scholar
Lubkin, G. (1977b). “Upsilon Particles…Suggest New Quark.” Physics Today 30 (No. 10): 17–20.Google Scholar
Martin, A., and Spearman, T. (1970). Elementary Particle Theory. New York: Wiley Interscience.Google Scholar
Marx, J., and Nygren, D. (1978). “The Time Projection Chamber.” Physics Today 31 (No. 10): 46–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMullin, E. (ed.). (1963). The Concept of Matter. Notre Dame: University Press.Google Scholar
McMullin, E. (ed.), (1978a). The Concept of Matter in Modern Philosophy. Notre Dame: University Press.Google Scholar
McMullin, E. (1978b). “Epilogue: Eight Problems.” In McMullin (1978a). Pages 271-98.Google Scholar
McMullin, E. (1978c). “Introduction.” In McMullin (1978a). Pages 1–55.Google Scholar
Misner, C. “Mass as a Form of Vacuum.” In McMullin (1963). Pages 596–608.Google Scholar
Nambu, Y. (1976). “The Confinement of Quarks.” Scientific American 235 (No. 5): 48–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nash, T., and Yamanouchi, T. (1974). “Search for Fractionally-Charged Quarks Produced by 200-and-300 GeV Proton-Nuclear Interactions. Physical Review Letters 32: 858-62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Novozhilov, Yu. (1975). Elementary Particle Theory. First edition. Translation of Vvedenie v teorii elementarnykh chastit, by Rosner, J.. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Pati, J. (1976). “The World of Basic Attributes: Valency and Color.” In Gauge Theories and Modern Field Theory. Edited by Arnowitt, R. and Nath, P. Cambridge: MIT Press. Pages 27–28.Google Scholar
Price, P., et al. (1975). “Evidence for the Detection of a Moving Magnetic Monopole.” Physical Review Letters 35: 487–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramsey, N. (1979). “The State of the APS and of Physics in 1978.” Physics Today 32 (No. 4): 25–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandorfi, A., Kilius, L., and Litherland, A. (1978). “Search for Quarklei—A New Form of Matter?” In Van Oers et al. (1978). Pages 756-58.Google Scholar
Schaffner, K. (1970). “Outlines of a Logic of Comparative Theory Evaluation.” In Stuewer (1970). Pages 311-54.Google Scholar
Schwinger, J. (1970). Particles, Sources, and Fields. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison Wesley.Google Scholar
Schwinger, J. (1978). “Introduction to Source Theory with Applications to High Energy Physics.” In Cence et al. (1978). Pages 341-81.Google Scholar
Schwitters, R. (1977). “Fundamental Particles with Charm.” Scientific American 237 (No. 4): 56–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrader-Frechette, K. (1977). “Atomism in Crisis.” Philosophy of Science 44: 409–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrader-Frechette, K. (1979). “High-Energy Models and the Ontological Status of the Quark.” Synthese 42: 173–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmons, J. (1975). “Some Topics Concerning N-N and N-D Experiments at Medium Energy.” In High-Energy Physics and Nuclear Structure 1975:AIP Conference Proceedings. Edited by Nagle, D.E., Goldhaber, A., Hargrove, C., Burman, R., and Storms, B., New York: American Institute of Physics. Pages 103-27.Google Scholar
Stuewer, R. (ed.). (1970). Historical and Philosophical Perspectives of Science. (Minnesota Studies in Philosophy of Science, Volume V.) Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
't Hooft, G. (1978). “Non-Abelian Gauge Theories and Quark Confinement.” In Lannuti and Williams (1978). Pages 1–8.Google Scholar
Treiman, S. Feynman, R. Jackson, J. Lee, T., and Low, F. (1972). “Panel Discussion.” In AIP Conference Proceedings: Particle Physics. Edited by Bander, M., Shaw, G. and Wong, D. New York: American Institute of Physics. Pages 164–185.Google Scholar
Turner, M., and Schramm, D. (1979). “Cosmology and Elementary Particle Physics.” Physics Today 32 (No. 9): 42–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Oers, W., Svenne, J., McKee, J. and Falk, W. (eds.). (1978). Clustering Aspects of Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Reactions: AIP Conference Proceedings. New York: American Institute of Physics.Google Scholar
Weinberg, S. (1974). “Unified Theories of Elementary Particle Interaction.” Scientific American 231 (No. 1): 50–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilczek, F. (1978). “Steps Toward the Heavy Quark Potential.’ In Lannuti and Williams (1978). Pages 30–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodruff, A. (1963). “The Elementary Particles of Matter.” In McMullin (1963). Pages 578-84.Google Scholar