Memories of old times

Schlick and Reichenbach on time in quantum mechanics

José M. Sánchez-Ron

pp. 1-13

in: Gonzalo Muga, Andreas Ruschhaupt, Adolfo del Campo (eds), Time in quantum mechanics II, Berlin, Springer, 2009

Abstract

Space and time are the basic entities in physics; they provide the framework for any description of natural processes. As such, both have been throughout history the subject of many philosophical and scientific analyses (remember Newton's reflections and use of absolute space and time). The 20th century was specially fruitful in this regard. It could hardly have been otherwise, in as much as the first physics revolution that took place then – special (1905) and general relativity (1915) – was deeply dependent on the concepts of space and time. The fact that relativity appeared on the physics scenario before quantum mechanics and that space and time played such an important role in it meant that during most of the century the great majority of philosophical analyses of both concepts were based on Einstein's theory, while much less attention was dedicated to the implications that quantum physics had on them.

Cited authors

Schlick Moritz

Reichenbach Hans