Afriat, Alexander (2008) How Weyl stumbled across electricity while pursuing mathematical justice. [Preprint]
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Abstract
It is argued that Weyl’s theory of gravitation and electricity came out of ‘mathematical justice’: out of the equal rights direction and length. Such mathematical justice was manifestly at work in the context of discovery, and is enough (together with a couple of simple and natural operations) to derive all of source-free electromagnetism. Weyl’s repeated references to coordinates and gauge are taken to express equal treatment of direction and length.
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| Item Type: | Preprint |
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| Keywords: | Weyl, unified theory, gravitation, electromagnetism, Einstein, general relativity, gauge |
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Mathematics Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > History of Science Case Studies |
| Depositing User: | Alexander Afriat |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Apr 2008 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Oct 2010 11:16 |
| Item ID: | 3966 |
| URI: | http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/3966 |
Available Versions of this Item
- A priori prejudice in Weyl's unintended unification of gravitation and electricity. (deposited 23 Jul 2007)
- How Weyl stumbled across electricity while pursuing mathematical justice. (deposited 02 Apr 2008)[Currently Displayed]
- A priori prejudice in Weyl's unintended unification of gravitation and electricity. (deposited 09 Aug 2007)
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