2010/01/25 by Ian T. Durham, Durham, Ian T.
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #gr-qc #physics.hist-ph #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1001.4304
Third prize winner, 2009 FQXi essay contest, "What is ultimately possible in physics?"
arxiv created 2010/01/25 · arxiv updated 2010/02/26
What is physics? What are the limits of what physics can say about the world? In seeking ever-broader theoretical `umbrellas' for physical phenomena, we are seeking unifying principles. Emergent phenomena have turned out to be some of the most difficult to explain, causing a `clash of umbrellas' so-to-speak, at the interface between the quantum and classical domains. This essay explores the role of articulation in this particularly vexing problem and ultimately addresses the question of whether the language and mathematics we use to describe the universe is sufficient in its present form and application.