The Experiment Paradox in Physics

Abstract

Modern physics is founded on two mainstays: mathematical modelling and empirical verification. These two assumptions are prerequisite for the objectivity of scientific discourse. Here we show, however, that they are contradictory, leading to the ‘experiment paradox’. We reveal that any experiment performed on a physical system is—by necessity—invasive and thus establishes inevitable limits to the accuracy of any mathematical model. We track its manifestations in both classical and quantum physics and show how it is overcome ‘in practice’ via the concept of environment. We argue that the unravelled paradox induces a new type of ‘ontic’ underdetermination, which has deep consequences for the methodological foundations of physics.

Computational Physics of <i>Mathematica</i> and Geometric Calculus

“…A recent paper [12] states that "Modern cosmological models are formulated in the framework of field theory [however] fields do not evolve per se-a solu-tion to field equations specifies the field content in the entire spacetime." This is true for quantum field theory, in which specific fields occupy all of space, with excitations in the field giving rise to specific particles, but contrasts with our primordial field theory wherein the field does evolve through self-interaction.…”