Abstract
In 1908, relying on Maxwell’s electromagnetism, Gustav Mie published a theory describing the interaction between an electromagnetic plane wave and a sphere characterised by its diameter and its complex refractive index. A theory treating the same problem has however been published by Lorenz about 20 years before. Furthermore, this theory did not rely on Maxwell’s electromagnetism, but did rely on a mechanical theory of ether. Yet, although relying on two deeply different ontologies, both theories generate the same experimental predictions. Experts in epistemology would say that they are empirically equivalent. The existence of conflicting theories being empirically equivalent may be discussed in the framework of a thesis called Quine’s thesis of underdetermination of theories by experiments to which this chapter is devoted.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
G. Mie, Beiträge zur Optik trüber Medien speziell kolloidaler Metalösungen. Annalen der Physik 25, 377–452 (1908)
H. Horvath (ed.), Light scattering, Mie and more. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transf.(special issue) 2009
J.H. Hough (ed.), 11th conference on electromagnetic and light scattering by nonspherical particles. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transf.(special issue) 2009
M.I. Mischenko, L.D. Travis, Gustav Mie and the evolving discipline of electromagnetic scattering by particles. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 89(12), 1853–1861 (2008)
L. Lorenz, Lysbevaegelsen i og uden for en af plane lysbolger belyst kulge. Vidensk. Selk. Skr. 6, 1–62 (1890)
L. Lorenz, Sur la lumière réfléchie et réfractée par une sphère transparente. Lib. Lehmann et Stage, Œuvres scientifiques de L.Lorenz, revues et annotées par H.Valentiner, 1898
N.A. Logan. Survey of some early studies of the scattering of plane waves by a sphere, reprinted in selected papers on light scattering by M. Kerker. SPIE, p. 951, 1965
N.A. Logan. Survey of some early studies of the scattering of plane waves by a sphere, ed. by D. Hirleman. in Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Optical Particle Sizing, (Arizona State University, Arizona, 1990), pp. 7–15
H. Kragh. Ludwig lorenz: his contributions to optical theory and light scattering by spheres, ed. by D. Hirleman, in Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Optical Particle Sizing, (Arizona State University, Arizona, 1990), pp.1–6
H. Kragh, Ludwig Lorenz and the nineteenth century optical theory. the work of a great Danish scientist. Appl. Opt. 30(33), 4688–4695 (1991)
W.V. Quine, On empirically equivalent systems of the world. Erkenntnis 9, 313–328 (1975)
R. Harré, Varieties of realism, a rationale for the natural sciences (Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1986)
A. Koestler, Les somnambules, French translation of "The sleepwalkers" (Calmann-Lévy, Paris, 1960)
O. Gingerich, Le livre que nul n’avait lu, à la poursuite du "De Revolutionibus" de Copernic. French translation of: "The book nobody read-chasing the revolution of Nicolaus Copernicus" (Dunod, Paris, 2008)
Galileo Galilei, Dialogue sur les deux grands systemes du monde, French translation of: Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico e copernicano (Editions du Seuil, Paris, 1992)
P. Duhem, La théorie physique, son objet, sa structure. English version: the aim and structure of physical theory (Librairie philosophique J. Vrin, Paris, 1997)
B. Van Fraassen, Quantum mechanics: an empiricist view (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2000)
R. Descartes, Les principes de la philosophie, troisième partie: pirouettes et tourbillons des cieux (Paleo, France, 2000)
R. Descartes, Les principes de la philosophie, quatrième partie: la Terre et son histoire (Paleo, France, 1999)
B. Pascal, Œuvres complètes, tome 1, chapter: Lettre de Blaise Pascal au très Révérend Père Noël (Gallimard, Paris, 1998), pp. 377–386
W.V. Quine, Le mot et la chose, French translation of “Word and Object” (MIT Press/Flammarion, Cambridge/Paris, 1960/1977)
W.V. Quine, La poursuite de la vérité, French Translation of "Pursuit of Truth" (Harvard University Press/Editions du Seuil, Cambridge/Paris, 1990/1993)
Sous la direction de Pierre Wagner, editor. Les philosophes et la, science (Gallimard, Paris, 2002)
S. Laugier-Rabaté, L’anthropologie logique de Quine, l’apprentissage de l’obvie (Librairie philosophique J Vrin, Paris, 1992)
B. Van Fraassen, Lois et symétries, French translation of "Laws and symmetry" ( Oxford University Press/Librairie philosophique J Vrin, Oxford/Paris, 1989/1994)
J.T. Cushing, Wave-particle duality, ed. by F. Selleri, Causal quantum theory, why a nonstarter?, (Plenum Press, New York, 1992), pp. 37–63
E. Squires, The mystery of the quantum world (Adam Hilger, Bristol, 1986)
Louis de Broglie, Introduction à l’étude de la mécanique ondulatoire (Hermann et Cie, Paris, 1930)
D.I. Blokhintsev, Mécanique quantique (Masson et Cie, Paris, 1967)
L.D. Landau, E.V. Lifchitz, Mécanique, English translation: Mechanics ( Pergamon Press/Editions Mir, Oxford,/Moscow, 1969/1966)
P.R. Holland, The quantum theory of motion, an account of the de Broglie-Bohm causal interpretation of quantum mechanics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993)
Louis de Broglie, Sur la possibilité d’une interprétation causale et objective de la mécanique ondulatoire. Comptes-Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences 234, 265–268 (1952)
Louis de Broglie, Louis de Broglie, physicien et penseur Vue d’ensemble sur mes travaux scientifiques, Collection dirigée par André George (Editions Albin Michel, Paris, 1953) pp. 457–486
Louis de Broglie, La physique quantique restera-t-elle indéterministe? (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1953)
Louis de Broglie, Une tentative d’interprétation causale et non linéaire de la mécanique ondulatoire (la théorie de la double solution). English translation: Nonlinear Wave Mechanics (Elsevier/Gauthier-Villars, Amsterdam/Paris, 1960/1956)
Louis de Broglie, La théorie de la mesure en mécanique ondulatoire ( interprétation usuelle et interprétation causale) (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1957)
Louis de Broglie, Etude critique des bases de l’interprétation actuelle de la mécanique ondulatoire (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1963)
D. Bohm, A suggested interpretation of the quantum theory in terms of "hidden" variables. part 1. Phys. Rev. 85, 166–179 (1952)
D. Bohm, Causality and chance in modern physics (Routledge and Paul Kegan, London, 1957)
D. Bohm and B.J. Hiley, The undivided universe, an ontological interpretation of quantum theory (Routledge and Paul Kegan, London, 1993)
J.P. Vigier, Structure des micro-objets dans l’interprétation causale de la théorie des quanta (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1956)
M. Jammer, The philosophy of quantum mechanics. The interpretations of quantum mechanics in historical perspective (Wiley, New York, 1974)
M. Jammer, The conceptual development of quantum mechanics. The History of Modern Physics, 1800–1950, vol 12 (Tomash Publishers, Los Angeles, 1989)
T.J. Pinch, in What does a proof do if it does not prove, a study of the social conditions and metaphysical divisions leading to David Bohm and John von Neumann failing to communicate in quantum physics, ed. by E. Mendelson, P. Weingart and R. Whitley. Social production of scientific knowledge, sociology of the sciences, Vol 1 (D. Reidel, Dordrecht, 1977), pp. 171–215
J.A. Wheeler, W.H. Zurek (eds.), Quantum theory and measurement. Princeton ser. phys. (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1983)
J.T. Cushing, Quantum mechanics, historical contingency and the Copenhagen hegemony (The University of Chicago Press, Hyde Park, 1994)
H. Freistadt, The causal formulation of the quantum mechanics of particles (the theory of de Broglie, Bohm and Takabayasi). Supplemento al Nuovo Cimento, Ser. 10(5), 1–70 (1957)
F.J. Belinfante, A survey of hidden-variable theories (Pergamon, Oxford, 1973)
F.M. Pipkin, in Atomic physics tests of the basic concepts in quantum mechanics, ed. by D.R. Bates and B. Bederson. Advances in Atomic and Molecular Physics (Academic Press, New York, 1978) pp. 281–340
B. d’Espagnat, Traité de physique et philosophie (Fayard, Paris, 2002)
Electrons et photons, Rapports et discussions du cinquième congrès de physique tenu à Bruxelles du 24 au 29 octobre 1927 (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1928)
P. Marage and G. Wallenborn, Les conseils Solvay et les débuts de la physique moderne (Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, 1995)
Louis de Broglie, Electrons et photons, Rapports et Discussions du cinquième conseil de physique tenu à Bruxelles du 24 au 29 octobre 1927, chapter: Nouvelle dynamique des quanta, (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1928) pp. 105–141
N. Bohr Electrons et Photons, Rapports et Discussions du cinquième conseil de physique tenu à Bruxelles du 24 au 29 octobre 1927, chapter: Le postulat des quanta et le nouveau dèveloppement de l’atomistique, (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1928), pp. 215–287
E. Schrödinger, Electrons et Photons, Rapports et Discussions du cinquième conseil de physique tenu à Bruxelles du 24 au 29 ocotbre 1927, chapter: La mécanique des ondes, (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1928), pp. 185–213
W. Heisenberg, La partie et le tout, le monde de la physique atomique, French translation of: Der Teil und das Ganze Gespräche im Umkreis der Atomphysik (Editions Albin Michel, Paris, 1972)
W. Heisenberg, La nature dans la physique contemporaine, translated from German, collection Idées (Gallimard, Paris, 1962)
M. Born, Louis de Broglie, physicien et penseur, collection dirigée par Andr George, chapter: La grande synthèse, (Editions Albin Michel, Paris, 1953) pp. 165–170
J. von Neumann, Les fondements de la mécanique quantique, French translation of "Mathematische Grundlagen der Quanten-mechanik", 1932. English version: Mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics (Princeton University Press/Librairie Félix Alcan, Princeton/Paris, 1955/1946)
D. Bohm, A suggested interpretation of the quantum theory in terms of "hidden" variables, part 2. Phys. Rev. 85, 180–193 (1952)
W. Pauli, Louis de Broglie, physicien et penseur, collection dirigée par André George, chapter: Remarques sur le problème des paramètres cachés dans la mécanique quantique et sur la théorie de l’onde pilote (Editions Albin Michel, Paris, 1953) pp. 33–42
B. d’Espagnat, Le réel voilé, analyse des concepts quantiques (Fayard, Paris, 1994)
M. Born, The Born-Einstein letters, correspondence between Albert Einstein and Max and Hedwig Born, from 1916 to 1955 with commentaries by Max Born, ed. by M.Born (MacMillan, London, 1971)
R.G. Newton, Scattering theory of waves and particles (Dover Publications, New York, 2002)
H.M. Nussenzveig, Diffraction effects in semiclassical scattering (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992)
W.V. Quine, Philosophie de la logique, présentation par Denis Bonnay et Sandra Laugier (Aubier-Montaigne, Paris, 1975)
W.V. Quine, Relativit de l’ontologie et autres essais, présentation par Sandra Laugier (Aubier-Montaigne, Paris, 1977)
W.V. Quine, Du point de vue logique, neuf essais logico-philosophiques, French translation of: from a logical point of view bibliothque des textes, philosophiques, (Editions Vrin, Paris, 2003)
C. Kittel, W.D. Knight, and M.A. Ruderman, Mechanics (McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1962)
J.T. Cushing, Bohm’s theory: common sense dismissed. Stud. Hist. Philos. Sci. 24(5), 815–842 (1993)
G. Gouesbet, Generalized Lorenz--Mie theories, the third decade: a perspective, invited review paper. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transf. 110, 1223–1238 (2009)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gouesbet, G. (2012). From Theories by Lorenz and Mie to Ontological Underdetermination of Theories by Experiments. In: Hergert, W., Wriedt, T. (eds) The Mie Theory. Springer Series in Optical Sciences, vol 169. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28738-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28738-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28737-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28738-1
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)