Re-Reading the Past from the end of Physics: Maxwell’s Equations in Retrospect
Chapter
Abstract
For the working physicist, the past and future of physics are thoroughly intertwined. With each set of goals the discipline has posed for itself comes a new gloss on prior accomplishments. As a result there is no unique or simple fashion in which the history of physics (as viewed by physicists) is related to their research priorities. In this brief essay I would like to illustrate some examples of the many ways in which the past is re-read, and then to speculate on some of the functions this constant reinterpretation plays.
Keywords
Gauge Symmetry Quantum Electrodynamic Grand Unify Theory Internal Symmetry Geometrical Program
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References
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© D. Reidel Publishing Company 1983