Instants in Physics: Point Mechanics and General Relativity

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceeding › Contribution to book/anthology › Research › peer review

Authors

  • Domenico Giulini

Research Organisations

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Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRe-Thinking Time at the Interface of Physics and Philosophy
Subtitle of host publicationThe Forgotten Present
Pages109–123
ISBN (electronic)978-3-319-10446-1
Publication statusPublished - 19 May 2015

Publication series

NameOn Thinking
PublisherSpringer
ISSN (Print)1867-4208
ISSN (electronic)1867-4216

Abstract

Theories in physics usually do not address “the present” or “the now”. However, they usually have a precise notion of an “instant” (or state). I review how this notion appears in relational point mechanics and how it suffices to determine durations—a fact that is often ignored in modern presentations of analytical dynamics. An analogous discussion is attempted for General Relativity. Finally we critically remark on the difference between relationalism in point mechanics and field theory and the problematic foundational dependencies between fields and spacetime.

Cite this

Instants in Physics: Point Mechanics and General Relativity. / Giulini, Domenico.
Re-Thinking Time at the Interface of Physics and Philosophy: The Forgotten Present. 2015. p. 109–123 (On Thinking).

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceeding › Contribution to book/anthology › Research › peer review

Giulini, D 2015, Instants in Physics: Point Mechanics and General Relativity. in Re-Thinking Time at the Interface of Physics and Philosophy: The Forgotten Present. On Thinking, pp. 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10446-1_5
Giulini, D. (2015). Instants in Physics: Point Mechanics and General Relativity. In Re-Thinking Time at the Interface of Physics and Philosophy: The Forgotten Present (pp. 109–123). (On Thinking). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10446-1_5
Giulini D. Instants in Physics: Point Mechanics and General Relativity. In Re-Thinking Time at the Interface of Physics and Philosophy: The Forgotten Present. 2015. p. 109–123. (On Thinking). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-10446-1_5
Giulini, Domenico. / Instants in Physics : Point Mechanics and General Relativity. Re-Thinking Time at the Interface of Physics and Philosophy: The Forgotten Present. 2015. pp. 109–123 (On Thinking).
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