Scerri, Eric (2003) The Philosophy of Chemistry. [Preprint]

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Abstract

When I push my hand down onto my desk it does not generally pass through the wooden surface. Why not? From the perspective of physics perhaps it ought to, since we are told that the atoms that make up all materials consist mostly of empty space. Here is a similar question that is put in a more sophisticated fashion. In modern physics any body is described as a superposition of many
wavefunctions, all of which stretch out to infinity in principle. How is it then that the person I am talking to across my desk appears to be located in one particular place?

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Scerri, Eric scerri@chem.ucla.edu 0000-0001-9775-5829
Keywords:	philosophy of chemistry, quantum mechanics,
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Chemistry General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Reductionism/Holism General Issues > Science Education
Depositing User:	Eric Scerri
Date Deposited:	04 Mar 2025 13:19
Last Modified:	04 Mar 2025 13:19
Item ID:	24858
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Chemistry General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Reductionism/Holism General Issues > Science Education
Date:	2003
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24858

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