This book presents a collection of texts by the German physicist and philosopher Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker (1912-2007), for use in seminars on the history, epistemology and structure of physics. Most texts appear in English for the first time. Weizsäcker became famous through his works in physics, mainly in the early development of nuclear physics. Later he would also become well known as a philosopher and analyst of contemporary culture. Texts include the original publications of the Weizsäcker-Bethe formula of nuclear masses and the Bethe-Weizsäcker cycle, which explains the source of energy in the sun; both were developed by Bethe at the same time and independently of Weizsäcker. Further texts deal with Weizsäcker's explanation of the origin of planets, his explanation of the time arrow in Statistical Mechanics and his analyses of Quantum Mechanics and the structure of physics in general.

Texts by one of the most important physicists of the 20th century, available in English for the first time Selection of essential texts for use in studies of the history and epistemology of physics Original texts as a source of further discussions on the foundations of quantum mechanics and the structure of physics Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Michael Drieschner, geb. 1939, Dipl.-Phys. 1964 in München, Promotion in Philosophie bei C.F. von Weizsäcker 1968 in Hamburg. 1970 bis 1978 am Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung der Lebensbedingungen der wissenschaftlich-technischen Welt (Starnberg), Arbeiten über Umweltfragen und Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik. Industrietätigkeit, 1980 Habilitation, Privatdozent an der Universität München. Seit 1986 Professor für Naturphilosophie an der Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Inhalt

Introduction.- On Elementary Transmutations in the Interior of Stars. Paper II.- The Formation of the Planetary System.- The History of Nature, Introduction.- The Second Law and the Difference between Past and Future.- A Sketch of the Unity of Physics.- Quantum Theory.- Probability and Abstract Quantum Theory.- The Philosophy of Alternatives.- Matter and Consciousness.- Matter, Energy, Information