The experimental (apparent) space-time transformations connect coordinates altered by length contraction and clock retardation. When clocks are synchronized by means of light signals (Einstein–Poincaré procedure) or by slow clock transport, the experimental space-time. transformations assume the mathematical form of the “Extended space-time transformations”.(4) These reduce to the Lorentz–Poincaré transformations when one of the frames they connect is the fundamental inertial frame. If the synchronization procedure were perfect, the experimental (...) class='Hi'>space-time transformations would assume the form of Selleri’s inertial transformations.(5) The real space-time transformations are those which are disclosed when the systematic measurement distortions are corrected. (shrink)

Marking a ground-breaking moment in the debate surrounding bodies and "body politics," Elizabeth Grosz's Space, Time and Perversion contends that only by resituating and rethinking the body will feminism and cultural analysis effect and unsettle the knowledges, disciplines and institutions which have controlled, regulated and managed the body both ideologically and materially. Exploring the fields of architecture, philosophy, and--in a controversial way--queer theory, Grosz shows how these fields have conceptually stripped bodies of their specificity, their corporeality, and the (...) vestigal traces of their production as bodies. Her tour de corpe investigates the work of Michel Foucault, Teresa de Lauretis, Gilles Deleuze, Judith Butler and Alphonso Lingis. Grosz considers their work by examining the ways in which the functioning of bodies transforms understandings of space and time, knowledge and desire. Begining with an exposition of the epistemological implications of bodily and sexual difference, Grosz examines the effects such knowledge have on the reception of meaning. She looks at the relationship between the knowledge of difference and the way that knowledge validates, affirms, avows and valorizes subjects. Grosz then extends this analysis to an investigation of the relationship between space, time, bodies and the spatial "arts" such as architecuture, urban planning and geography. In the last section, Grosz moves toward a radical consideration of bodies and their relationship to transgression and perversity. Controversially showing the ways in which "queer" theory fails to offer a truly transformative conception of bodies and their politics, Grosz finds "queer" a reactive category "which sees itself in opposition to a straight norm and thus defines itself in terms of this norm." Consequentially, "queer" theory inherits the acceptance of an entire range of sexual practices, without "asking what they share and without taking into account the profound tension that may exist among these practices." Grosz's Space, Time and Perversity is a diverse and incisive collection of essays from a renowned feminist philosopher. (shrink)

The disciplinary enterprises engaged in the study of consciousness now extend beyond their original paradigms providing additional knowledge toward an overall understanding of the fundamental meaning and scope of consciousness. A new transdisciplinary domain has resulted from the syncretism of several approaches bringing about a new paradigm. The background for this overarching enterprise draws from a variety of traditions. In this paper however elaboration is restricted to the quantum-mechanical account in David Bohm’s theoretical work in relation to his ideas about (...) “active information”, “protointelligence”, and “non-locality”. This leads to an adapted version of Bohm’s thesis concerning the implicate order and explicate order of the Universe - the Impression Order and the Expression Order, respectively. On this view, the Universe is formed on an actual-material level, the apparent properties of things, and a potential-material level, a constant process of becoming that exerts an attractive force on the present. The central thesis emerges from a radical reformulation of certain core concepts that transforms many ontological assumptions about the material basis of consciousness. That is, the above platform inclusively connects to a hypothesis that the concepts of ‘space’, ‘time’, ‘event’, and ‘motion’ can be unified to capture the notion of simultaneous activity at reducing levels to the Impression order. This notion coheres with a physical-theoretical model of Signature-Energy-Frequency which has been well demonstrated in the atomic, chemical, and information fields. This study embraces a holistic and creative worldview based on a triadic model wherein consciousness itself is postulated as the most basic, primordial stratum. Importantly, both orders are constantly conjoined since the Impression Order exists as potential energy of the quantum vacuum. The physical realm is formed by the proposed Triangulate-Three conditions as a principle of animation and ‘being’: Consciousness, Body-of-Experience and Intellect-Reflective in the Expression Order, one aspect of which emerge as lifelike properties. This Triangulate-Three principle inheres in every particle and organism to which it guides its development, adaptation, and survival. The conscious being thus possesses all three conditions in Expression Order through STEM-interactions via SEF transmissions, as a self-organising organism. (shrink)

In this paper we study the emergence of Minkowski space–time from a discrete causal network representing a classical information flow. Differently from previous approaches, we require the network to be topologically homogeneous, so that the metric is derived from pure event-counting. Emergence from events has an operational motivation in requiring that every physical quantity—including space–time—be defined through precise measurement procedures. Topological homogeneity is a requirement for having space–time metric emergent from the pure topology of (...) causal connections, whereas physically homogeneity corresponds to the universality of the physical law. We analyze in detail the case of 1+1 dimensions. If we consider the causal connections as an exchange of classical information, we can establish coordinate systems via an Einsteinian protocol, and this leads to a digital version of the Lorentz transformations. In a computational analogy, the foliation construction can be regarded as the synchronization with a global clock of the calls to independent subroutines in a parallel distributed computation. Thus the Lorentz time-dilation emerges as an increased density of leaves within a single tic-tac of a clock, whereas space-contraction results from the corresponding decrease of density of events per leaf. The operational procedure of building up the coordinate system introduces an in-principle indistinguishability between neighboring events, resulting in a network that is coarse-grained, the thickness of the event being a function of the observer's clock. The illustrated simple classical construction can be extended to space dimension greater than one, with the price of anisotropy of the maximal speed, due to the Weyl-tiling problem. This issue is cured if the causal network is quantum, as e.g. in a quantum cellular automaton, and isotropy is recovered by quantum coherence via superposition of causal paths. We thus argue that in a causal network description of space–time, the quantum nature of the network is crucial. (shrink)

Conformal group of Minkowski space-time M is considered as a group of bundle automorphisms of a vector bundle U over M. 4-component spin-vectors (4-spinors) are sections of a subbundle of the tangent bundle over U. Isotropic 4-vectors are images of 4-spinors under projection. This leads to a particularly clear interpretation of the spin properties of Nature.

Within the framework of 'Temporalities and the Urban Fabric: Co-Producing Liminal Spaces in Transitional Epochs,' this rigorous examination unravels the multilayered nuances of temporality and its intimate relationship with urban spaces in times of transition. The research delineates the intricate interplay between public exhibitions, urban realms, and socio-political paradigms, particularly within the dynamic settings of the metropolitan entities of Houston and Amsterdam. These cities, as epitomes of temporal urban flux, become fertile grounds for exploring the ephemeral essence of liminal spaces (...) and their transformative manifestations. By weaving together diverse academic domains – from Design Computation and Fabrication to Urban Communities and Spatial Justice – this study underscores the symbiotic fusion of Augmented Reality (AR) and Gamification within the broader canvas of urban temporalities. Crucially, the research accentuates the transformative potential of Extended Reality (XR) in augmenting the theoretical and methodological contours of urban studies within these transitional epochs. (shrink)

In this paper I present the Discrete Space-Time Thesis, in a way which enables me to defend it against various well-known objections, and which extends to the discrete versions of Special and General Relativity with only minor difficulties. The point of this presentation is not to convince readers that space-time really is discrete but rather to convince them that we do not yet know whether or not it is. Having argued that it is an open question (...) whether or not space-time is discrete, I then turn to some possible empirical evidence, which we do not yet have. This evidence is based on some slight differences between commonly occurring differential equations and their discrete analogs. (shrink)

The generator of electromagnetic gauge transformations in the Dirac equation has a unique geometric interpretation and a unique extension to the generators of the gauge group SU(2) × U(1) for the Weinberg-Salam theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions. It follows that internal symmetries of the weak interactions can be interpreted as space-time symmetries of spinor fields in the Dirac algebra. The possibilities for interpreting strong interaction symmetries in a similar way are highly restricted.

In the light of our recently performed experiments, revealing the anisotropy of light velocity in any frame moving with respect to absolute space, we show that the Lorentz transformation, where the relativity of light velocity is given implicitly through the relativity of the time coordinates, must be treated from an absolute point of view if one seeks to preserve its adequacy to physical reality. Then we propose a new transformation (which is to be considered as a legitimate companion (...) of the Lorentz transformation) wherein the relativity of light velocity is given explicitly and the time coordinates are absolute. (shrink)

The semigroup of trajectories in Minkowski space-time and its induced representations are constructed as a generalization of the Galilei case. They describe relativistic pointlike particles and yield the free propagator as a path integral in the space of trajectories parametrized by a fifth parameter. This non physical propagator in a five-dimensional space is integrated over the fifth parameter to yield the physical propagator in Minkowski space. Thereafter, this notion is applied to a model of (...) class='Hi'>extended particles with internal Poincaré symmetry and moving in an external Minkowski space. The geometrical structure is of Hilbert bundles and the interaction is introduced as a connection. The propagator is a path integral with respect to either the internal and external trajectories and reduces to a product of an internal and an external propagator when the interaction is ignored, just as has been found in a previous work with representations of the group rather than those of the semigroup. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Coordinate Systems: Euclidean Space Invariant Quantities Classical Space‐times Special Relativity Consequences of the Lorentz Transformation Lorentz Invariant Quantities.

The theory of branching space-times is designed as a rigorous framework for modelling indeterminism in a relativistically sound way. In that framework there is room for "funny business", i.e., modal correlations such as occur through quantummechanical entanglement. This paper extends previous work by Belnap on notions of "funny business". We provide two generalized definitions of "funny business". Combinatorial funny business can be characterized as "absence of prima facie consistent scenarios", while explanatory funny business characterizes situations in which no localized (...) explanation of inconsistency can be given. These two definitions of funny business are proved to be equivalent, and we provide an example that shows them to be strictly more general than the previously available definitions of "funny business". (shrink)

It has been shown that the Lorentz transformations in special relativity can be derived in terms of the principle of relativity and certain properties of space and time such as homogeneity. In this paper, we argue that the free Schrodinger equation in quantum mechanics may also be regarded as a consequence of the homogeneity of space and time and the principle of relativity when assuming linearity of time evolution.

This book provides an account of the unity of Immanuel Kant’s early metaphysics, including the moment he invents transcendental idealism. Matthew Rukgaber argues that a division between “two worlds”—the world of matter, force, and space on the one hand, and the world of metaphysical substances with inner states and principles preserved by God on the other—is what guides Kant’s thought. Until 1770 Kant consistently held a conception of space as a force-based material product of monads that are only (...) virtually present in nature. As Rukgaber explains, transcendental idealism emerges as a constructivist metaphysics, a view in which space and time are real relations outside of the mind, but those relations are metaphysically dependent on the subject. The subject creates the simple “now” and “here,” thus introducing into the intrinsically indeterminate and infinitely divisible continua of nature a metric with transformation rules that make possible all individuation and measurement. (shrink)

Although considerations based on contemporary space-time theories, such as special and general relativity, seem highly relevant to the debate about persistence, their significance has not been duly appreciated. My goal in this paper is twofold: (1) to reformulate the rival positions in the debate (i.e., endurantism [three-dimensionalism] and perdurantism [four-dimensionalism, the doctrine of temporal parts]) in the framework of special relativistic space-time; and (2) to argue that, when so reformulated, perdurantism exhibits explanatory advantages over endurantism. The (...) argument builds on the fact that four-dimensional entities extended in space as well as time are relativistically invariant in a way three-dimensional entities are not. (shrink)

Physical Relativity explores the nature of the distinction at the heart of Einstein's 1905 formulation of his special theory of relativity: that between kinematics and dynamics. Einstein himself became increasingly uncomfortable with this distinction, and with the limitations of what he called the 'principle theory' approach inspired by the logic of thermodynamics. A handful of physicists and philosophers have over the last century likewise expressed doubts about Einstein's treatment of the relativistic behaviour of rigid bodies and clocks in motion in (...) the kinematical part of his great paper, and suggested that the dynamical understanding of length contraction and time dilation intimated by the immediate precursors of Einstein is more fundamental. Harvey Brown both examines and extends these arguments, after giving a careful analysis of key features of the pre-history of relativity theory. He argues furthermore that the geometrization of the theory by Minkowski in 1908 brought illumination, but not a causal explanation of relativistic effects. Finally, Brown tries to show that the dynamical interpretation of special relativity defended in the book is consistent with the role this theory must play as a limiting case of Einstein's 1915 theory of gravity: the general theory of relativity.Appearing in the centennial year of Einstein's celebrated paper on special relativity, Physical Relativity is an unusual, critical examination of the way Einstein formulated his theory. It also examines in detail certain specific historical and conceptual issues that have long given rise to debate in both special and general relativity theory, such as the conventionality of simultaneity, the principle of general covariance, and the consistency or otherwise of the special theory with quantum mechanics. Harvey Brown' s new interpretation of relativity theory will interest anyone working on these central topics in modern physics. (shrink)

This chapter looks closely at the use of resilience as a value in pandemic discourses, and particularly at how it reflects the moral complexity of the situation the pandemic presents: an extended crisis where shocks and stressors interact and have an uncertain end. We review key aspects of how resilience has been conceptualised, generally speaking, focusing on its normative implications. Insofar as resilience is suggested as a goal, or used to evaluate individuals, groups and systems, the rhetorical use of (...) resilience in the pandemic has moral implications that we unpack. Asking questions such as resilience to what, of what, and for whom, drives our analysis of the multiple scales at which morally relevant factors must be considered, in terms of distance and certainty, and across space and over time. Further, we highlight the importance of particularly challenging, intersecting scales both within and beyond the pandemic, such as the interaction between other- and self-regarding concerns and the tension between transformation and conservation, as we consider when to take up opportunities for improving ourselves, our society and our systems, in times of extended crises and radical change. Given that a ‘return to normal’ is neither universally desirable nor likely, we recommend in this chapter ways to address resilience as a value that can shape approaches to policy and behaviour while also being explicit about the normative—evaluative and also prescriptive—implications of its use. (shrink)

The paper extends the framework of outcomes in branching space-time (Kowalski and Placek [1999]) by assigning probabilities to outcomes of events, where these probabilities are interpreted either epistemically or as weighted possibilities. In resulting models I define the notion of common cause of correlated outcomes of a single event, and investigate which setups allow for the introduction of common causes. It turns out that a deterministic common cause can always be introduced, but (surprisingly) only special setups permit the (...) introduction of truly stochastic common causes. I analyse next the Bell-Aspect experiment and derive the Bell-CH inequalities. I observe that we postulate there not a common cause for outcomes of a single event but rather a common common cause that accounts for outcomes of many events, where 'events' mean 'measurements with (different) directions of polarization'. Since the inequalities are violated, I claim that no causal story can be told about the Bell correlations, where causality is subliminal and restricted by screening-off condition. Similarly, given certain intuitive principles, no deterministic story can be told about these correlations. (shrink)

The action-reaction principle (AR) is examined in three contexts: (1) the inertial-gravitational interaction between a particle and space-time geometry, (2) protective observation of an extended wave function of a single particle, and (3) the causal-stochastic or Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics. A new criterion of reality is formulated using the AR principle. This criterion implies that the wave function of a single particle is real and justifies in the Bohm interpretation the dual ontology of the particle and (...) its associated wave function. But it is concluded that the Bohm theory is not dynamically complete because the particle and its associated wave function do not satisfy the AR principle. (shrink)

Along the lines of a previous work, the geometrical structure of Hibert bundles describing extended quantum free particles is repeated with Galilei external and internal independent symmetries. Then, in order to introduce the interaction, this structure is extended by replacing configuration and momentum spaces by the socelled spaces of trajectories and extended velocity boosts, respectively. These provide representations giving the probability amplitudes for the particle to follow certain trajectories. The interaction can be introduced in the transformation law (...) from functions on the space of trajectories (free dynamics) to functions on spacetime (intracting dynamics). This transformation law, which makes use of a universal distribution, is seen as a functional in our work according to a quantum functional theory which generalizes the ideas of de Broglie. Intertwining of induced representations gives the free propagator in the space of trajectories and, henceforth, the propagator with interaction in space-time for the extended particle. (shrink)

To advance a successful reading of Kant's theory of motivation, his interpreter must have a carefully developed position on the relation between our rational and sensible capacities of mind. Unfortunately, many of Kant's commentators hold an untenably dualistic conception, understanding reason and sensibility to be necessarily conflicting aspects of human nature that saddle Kant with a rigoristic and fundamentally divided moral psychology. Against these interpreters, I argue for a reading that maintains a unified conception, claiming that we must think of (...) reason and sensibility as interdependent capacities, which stand to one another as form to matter. Our sensible nature thus does not stand opposed to reason; its fundamental character is determined by reason's activity. I take Kant's account of moral motivation and the feeling of respect to represent the lynchpin of this unified account. Against interpreters who would emphasize either the intellectual or affective nature of respect, I claim that it should be understood as the formal element of moral sensibility, the result of practical reason determining the capacity to feel and fundamentally transforming its character. To make this argument, I draw on Kant's account of sensibility in the Critique of Pure Reason, claiming that space, time, and respect for the moral law are analogous formal elements of sensibility. (shrink)

Similarity profiled association mining from time stamped transaction databases is an important topic of research relatively less addressed in the field of temporal data mining. Mining temporal patterns from these time series databases requires choosing and applying similarity measure for similarity computations and subsequently pruning temporal patterns. This research proposes a novel z-space based interest measure named as Krishna Sudarsana for time-stamped transaction databases by extending interest measure Srihass proposed in previous research. Krishna Sudarsana is designed (...) by using the product based fuzzy Gaussian membership function and performs similarity computations in z-space to determine the similarity degree between any two temporal patterns. The interest measure is designed by considering z-values between z = 0 and z = 3.09. Applying the Krishna Sudarsana requires moving the threshold value given by user to a different transformation space which is a defined as a function of standard deviation. In addition to proposing interest measure, new expressions for standard deviation and equivalent z-space threshold are derived for similarity computations. For experimental evaluation, we considered Naïve, Sequential and Spamine algorithms that applies Euclidean distance function and compared performance of these three approaches to Z-Spamine algorithm that uses Krishna Sudarsana by choosing various test cases. Experiment results proved the performance of the proposed approach is better to Sequential approach that uses snapshot database scan strategy and Spamine approach that uses lattice based database scan strategy. (shrink)

Locke is famed for his caution in speculative matters: “Men, extending their enquiries beyond their capacities and letting their thoughts wander into those depths where they can find no sure footing; ‘tis no wonder that they raise questions and multiply disputes”. And he is skeptical about the pretensions of natural philosophy, which he says is “not capable of being made a science”. And yet Locke is confident that “Our reason leads us to the knowledge of this certain and evident truth, (...) that there is an eternal, most powerful and most knowing being; which whether anyone will please to call God it matters not”. His certainty about the existence and attributes of God, I will argue, led him to surprisingly strong convictions about a deep and disputed problem at the intersection of seventeenth century metaphysics and natural philosophy: the absolute reality of space and time. Specifically, he based his absolutist conceptions of space and time on God’s literal omnipresence and eternity. Leibniz probably had Locke in mind when he inveighed in 1716 against “real absolute space, the idol of some modern Englishmen”. And Leibniz was right a decade earlier to voice through his mouthpiece Theophilus the suspicion that, despite Locke’s claim to know nothing about the substance of void space, “there are grounds for thinking you know more about it than you say or believe that you do. Some people have thought that God is the place of objects”. (shrink)

In quantum relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics, the time evolution of interacting particles is described by the Hamiltonian with an interaction-dependent term (potential energy). Boost operators are responsible for (Lorentz) transformations of observables between different moving inertial frames of reference. Relativistic invariance requires that interaction-dependent terms (potential boosts) are present also in the boost operators and therefore Lorentz transformations depend on the interaction acting in the system. This fact is ignored in special relativity, which postulates the universality of Lorentz (...) transformations and their independence of interactions. Taking into account potential boosts in Lorentz transformations allows us to resolve the “no-interaction” paradox formulated by Currie, Jordan, and Sudarshan [Rev. Mod. Phys. 35, 350 (1963)] and to predict a number of potentially observable effects contradicting special relativity. In particular, we demonstrate that the longitudinal electric field (Coulomb potential) of a moving charge propagates instantaneously. We show that this effect as well as superluminal spreading of localized particle states is in full agreement with causality in all inertial frames of reference. Formulas relating time and position of events in interacting systems reduce to the usual Lorentz transformations only in the classical limit (ħ→0) and for weak interactions. Therefore, the concept of Minkowski space-time is just an approximation which should be avoided in rigorous theoretical constructions. (shrink)

An axiomatic framework for describing general space-time models is presented. Space-time models to which irreducible propositional systems belong as causal logics are quantum (q) theoretically interpretable and their event spaces are Hilbert spaces. Such aq space-time is proposed via a “canonical” quantization. As a basic assumption, the time t and the radial coordinate r of aq particle satisfy the canonical commutation relation [t,r]=±i $h =$ . The two cases will be considered simultaneously. In (...) that case the event space is the Hilbert space L2(ℝ3). Unitary symmetries consist of Poincaré-like symmetries (translations, rotations, and inversion) and of gauge-like symmetries. Space inversion implies time inversion. Thisq space-time reveals a confinement phenomenon: Theq particle is “confined” in an $h =$ size region of Minkowski space $\mathbb{M}^4$ at any time. One particle mechanics overq space-time provides mass eigenvalue equations for elementary particles. Prugovečki's stochasticq mechanics andq space-time offer a natural way for introducing and interpreting consistently such aq space-time andq particles existing in it. The mass eigenstates ofq particles generate Prugovečki's extended elementary particles. When $h =$ →0, these particles shrink to point particles and $\mathbb{M}^4$ is recovered as the classical (c) limit ofq space-time. Conceptual considerations favor the case [t,r]=+i $h =$ , and applications in hadron physics give the fit $h =$ ⋍2/5 fermi/GeV. (shrink)

The paper is intended as a contribution to historical materialism. The authors are not interested in any historical-philosophical, still less in exegetical, problems. They believe that this intellectual tradition is relevant for understanding the social transformations ongoing contemporarily and for coping with practical problems to which these transformations give rise. Among the most important changes there are those labeled as “globalization” and the rise and development of “knowledge society” and “information civilization.” If one adopts this stance, one should (...) admit that the problems of space and culture deserve special attention. Discussing the ways these problems could be tackled in historical materialism, the authors use the ideas of Leszek Nowak and Immanuel Wallerstein. (shrink)

We review the relation between spacetime geometries with trace-torsion fields, the so-called Riemann–Cartan–Weyl (RCW) geometries, and their associated Brownian motions. In this setting, the drift vector field is the metric conjugate of the trace-torsion one-form, and the laplacian defined by the RCW connection is the differential generator of the Brownian motions. We extend this to the state-space of non-relativistic quantum mechanics and discuss the relation between a non-canonical quantum RCW geometry in state-space associated with the gradient of the (...) quantum-mechanical expectation value of a self-adjoint operator given by the generalized laplacian operator defined by a RCW geometry. We discuss the reduction of the wave function in terms of a RCW quantum geometry in state-space. We characterize the Schroedinger equation in terms of the RCW geometries and Brownian motions. Thus, in this work, the Schroedinger field is a torsion generating field, both for the linear and non-linear cases. We discuss the problem of the many times variables and the relation with dissipative processes, and the role of time as an active field, following Kozyrev and a recent experiment in non-relativistic quantum systems. We associate the Hodge dual of the drift vector field with a possible angular-momentum source for the phenomenae observed by Kozyrev. (shrink)

Prior to this intervention the site used to be a degraded fiscal property, that functioned as a bus yard, a police legal deposit, and a restaurant parking lot. Underneath it runs the Maldonado stream culvert, covered by a concrete slab at a depth of only -20cm. Next to the site is a 5m high railroad embankment. The plot is strategically located at the end of Juan B. Justo avenue and works as a gateway to the Tres de Febrero park (also (...) known as Bosques de Palermo, the Buenos Aires’s biggest green space designed by Charles Thays in 1875). It is situated in the neighborhood of Palermo, an area that underwent a vertiginous residential and commercial expansion since the late 90´s. -/- The design approach is influenced by the adjacent urban fragments: the grounds of the Sociedad Rural Argentina, the surrounding Avenues Santa Fe-Sarmiento; the opening of Darregueyra street expected for the near future, the implementation of historic preservation guidelines for the Tres de Febrero Park, and the proposal for the development of nearby railroad yards. -/- Specifically, the project seeks to minimize the impact of the fast traffic that runs along Bullrich avenue, improving pedestrian and cycle access to the park. At the same time it defines new landscape features, utilizing the earth made available by the tunneling works of a new subway line. -/- The project comprises the structuring of an existing 800 meter long embankment and the transformation of the sidewalk into a public promenade. This is achieved through a wider sidewalk of 12m on average, which is part of a series of longitudinal stripes ranging from high speed to quiet spaces. The first band of grass and aged tipas (tipuana tipu) buffer pedestrian and cyclist from automotive traffic. Cycle traffic is organized on its own lane. The sidewalk itself contains several bays that act as urban lounges. Next, a continuous concrete bench delimits the beginning of the slope, backed by a stripe of grass that works as a soft extension. Finally, plants for contemplation are arranged as undulating traces. Rhythmic use of retaining gabions defines longitudinal segments of varying slope, unifying the spacial criterion. This series is punctuated by an amphitheater and framed by triangular plazas at the corners. -/- Material choices for hard surfaces are constrained by concerns of durability, low cost, and consistency with other ongoing public works. -/- Hard materials, as well as the plant selection needed to be low-maintenance. The palette was kept to reinforced concrete, granitic slabs, and granite stone in large size –forming retaining gabions- and as loose finishing for pavements. Likewise, the lack of a protective enclosure and of continuous surveillance dictated that urban furniture and fixtures be anti-vandalic. The stealing of these components –from inspection lids, to benches, to plants- is a common problem in urban spaces in many Latin American cities. To prevent this, fixtures must be designed according to precise specifications regarding their weight, fixing and anchoring systems, and mechanical parts. -/- Sidewalks are organized through a 6 meter grid made of granitic white slab, infilled with textured combed nonslip concrete modules. Extended bays and corner squares are finished with white and black slabs respectively. These materials are similar to another used in public spaces under construction, in the believe that it creates a collective identification of themselves along the city. -/- The continuous reinforced concrete bench is 1.10 m wide, in order to allow people to use it in non-conventional ways. Further up on the slope, undulating paths separate plant species and provide access for gardening, but are also open to use by the public. They are paved with 2 meter-long precast concrete slabs (smaller and lighter pieces were avoided to deter robbery). As they reach the gabions they connect with sloping paths covered with loose granitic stones. The gabions themselves allow the creation of varying slopes while contributing to retaining the soil, which is reinforced with geosynthetic fabric in the perimeter to avoid landslides originated by strong rains typical of the region. -/- Urban furniture is featured on the wider bays of the sidewalk and at corner plazas. It includes seats, water fountains, bicycle racks, wastepaper baskets. As a counterpoint to the linear concrete bench, groups of concrete seats are arranged informally. These seats are a reinterpretation of the dynamic BKF chair (also known as Butterfly chair), the classic Argentinean design of the 1930’ by Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan, and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy. A few low concrete tables complete these spaces as authentic urban lounges. Lighting design accompanies the general features of the project and creates a new scenography emphasizing night-time usage. -/- Landscape gardening criteria is set up by a selection of various species of high-resistant pasture (grass). The higher the slope, the higher the grass, increasing the final volumetric result. Based on considering the original tipas line (tipuana tipu, a species from the north of Argentina, yellow flowering) as a vertical wall that frames the view, the horizontal stripes contain a single species each, differing in size, shade and flowering periods –adding, in the middle band, a changing color on the big green plane slope in the same chromatic range. The final configuration of the stripe sequence from bottom to top: bermuda grass, bulbine frutescens, euryops pectinatus. The upper band existing native species is reinforced with new samples: paspalum exaltatum + cortadera selloana and ipomea + thumbergia climbing the railway fence. Each sector between gabions has an automated system of drip irrigation. Near the corner plazas, several palms are planted to provide shade and identity to the street-crossing. -/- The intervention proposes an ambivalent effect on the landscape, trascending the merely ornamental by accompanying the motorist in speed, while conforting the pedestrian with spaces for contemplation and urban relax. (shrink)

We revisit the introduction of the Superluminal Lorentz transformations which carry from “bradyonic” inertial frames to “tachyonic” inertial frames, i.e., which transform time-like objects into space-like objects, andvice versa. It has long been known that special relativity can be extended to Superluminal observers only by increasing the number of dimensions of the space-time or—which is in a sense equivalent—by releasing the reality condition (i.e., introducing also imaginary quantities). In the past we always adopted the (...) latter procedure. Here we show the connection between that procedure and the former one. In other words, in order to clarify the physical meaning of the imaginary units entering the classical theory of tachyons, we have temporarily to call into play anauxiliary six-dimensional space-time M(3, 3); however, we are eventually able to go back to the four-dimensional Minkowski space-time. We revisit the introduction of the Superluminal Lorentz transformations also under another aspect. In fact, the generalized Lorentz transformations had been previously written down in a form suited only for the simple case of collinear boosts (e.g., they formed a group just for collinear boosts). We express now the Superluminal Lorentz transformations in a more general form, so that they constitute a group together with the ordinary—orthochronousand antichronous—Lorentz transformations, and reduce to the previous form in the case of collinear boosts. Our approach introduces either real or imaginary quantities, with exclusion of (generic) complex quantities. In the present context, a procedure—in two steps—for interpreting the imaginary quantities is put forth and discussed. In the case of a chain of generalized Lorentz transformations, such a procedure (when necessary) is to be applied only at the end of the chain. Finally, we justify why we call “transformations” also the Superluminal ones. (shrink)

The recent revival of the theme of hospitality in the humanities and social sciences reflects a shared concern with issues of belonging, identity and placement that arises out of the experience of globalized social life. In this context, migration — or spatial dislocation and relocation — is often equated with demands for hospitality. There is a need to engage more carefully with the ‘proximities’ that prompt acts of hospitality and inhospitality; to attend more closely to their spatial and temporal dimensions. (...) Is the stranger or the Other primarily one who is recognisably ‘out of place’? Or is there more to being estranged than moving from one territory to another? This brings us to the question of human finitude, and to the possibility of encounters with others that do not simply only occur in time or space, but are themselves generative of new times and spaces. (shrink)

The relation of the conformal group to various earlier proposed relativistic quantum mechanical dynamical groups (and other related groups) is studied in the framework of projective geometry, by explicitly constructing the contractions of the six-dimensional coordinate transformations. Five-dimensional realizations are then derived. An attempt is made to improve our physical insight through geometry.

In a previous paper by Pollock and Singh, it was proven that the total entropy of de Sitter space-time is equal to zero in the spatially flat case K=0. This result derives from the fundamental property of classical thermodynamics that temperature and volume are not necessarily independent variables in curved space-time, and can be shown to hold for all three spatial curvatures K=0,±1. Here, we extend this approach to Schwarzschild space-time, by constructing a non-vacuum (...) interior space with line element ds 2=e2λ(r) dt 2−e−2λ(r) dr 2−r 2(dθ 2+sin2 θdϕ 2), where $\mathrm{e}^{2{\lambda }(r)}=-\frac{1}{2}(1-\frac{r^{2}}{R_{0}^{2}})$ , which matches onto the vacuum exterior Schwarzschild metric in such a way that e2λ and d(e2λ )/dr are both continuous at the Schwarzschild radius R 0=2M. Then we show that the volume entropy is equal to A/4, where $A\equiv 4\pi R_{0}^{2}$ is the area of the apparent horizon, as found by Hawking. (shrink)

Before the twentieth century, the Universe was usually imagined as a large spatially extended thing unfolding in time. The past was fixed and the future was open; unfolding was conceived as an asymmetric process of coming into being. Relativity introduced a new vision in which space and time are presented together as a single four-dimensional manifold of events. That, together with the fact that the fundamental laws of our classical theories are symmetric in time, made (...) understanding why the past and future present themselves so differently in our experience one of the central challenges of physics. The last two centuries have seen a great deal of progress in understanding various of the so-called arrows of time: the thermodynamic arrow, the cosmological arrow, the arrow of knowledge or information. There remains an outstanding piece of this puzzle that has seen little progress, one that Roger Penrose described in his beautiful paper Singularities and Time-Asymmetry in 1979 as: “The arrow most difficult to comprehend … namely the feeling of relentless forward temporal progression, according to which potentialities seem to be transformed into actualities.”I will propose that the insight needed to resolve the problem involves taking into account that we are part of the universe and that any attempt to model it as a totality involves self-reference. I will argue specifically that self-reference, against the background of a thermodynamic gradient, creates an instability in an embedded agent’s ability to know the future or even treat it as a potential object of knowledge. That instability captures the sense in which the future remains for her perpetually open and the passage of time resolves openness into the fixity of fact. (shrink)

The Lorentz transformation of space and time between two reference frames is one of the pillars of the special relativity theory. As a result of the Lorentz transformation, space and time are only relative and are entangled, while the Minkowski metric is Lorentz invariant. For this reason, the Lorentz transformation is one of the major obstructions in the development of physical theories with quantized space and time. Here is described the Lorentz transformation of a (...) physical system with a discrete dynamical time and a continuous space that fulfills Lorentz invariance while approximating the Lorentz transformation at the time continuous limit and the Galilei transformation at the classical limit. Furthermore, the discreteness of time is not mixed with the continuous nature of space, making time distinct from space. (shrink)

In this paper, we report on a new approach to relativistic quantum theory. The classical theory is derived from a new implementation of the first two postulates of Einstein, which fixes the proper-time of the physical system of interest for all observers. This approach leads to a new group that we call the proper-time group. We then construct a canonical contact transformation on extended phase space to identify the canonical Hamiltonian associated with the proper-time variable. (...) On quantization we get a new relativistic wave equation for spin 1/2 particles that generalizes the Dirac theory. The Hamiltonian is positive definite so we naturally interpret antiparticles as particles with their proper-time reversed. We show that for the hydrogen atom problem, we get the same fine structure separation. When the proton spin magnetic moment is taken into account, we get the standard hyperfine splitting terms of the Pauli approximation and two additional terms. The first term is small in p-states. It diverges in s-states, and provides more than enough to account for the Lamb-shift when the proton radius is used as a cut off. The last term promises to provide a correction to the hyperfine splitting term. Although incomplete, the general approach offers hope of completely accounting for the hydrogen spectrum as an eigenvalue problem. (shrink)

One of the foremost goals of research in physics is to find the most basic and universal theories that describe our universe. Many theories assume the presence of absolute space and time in which the physical objects are located and physical processes take place. However, it is more fundamental to understand time as relative to the motion of another object, e.g., the number of swings of a pendulum, and the position of an object primarily relative to other (...) objects. This paper aims to explain how using the principle of relationalism, classical mechanics can be formulated on a most elementary space, which is freed from absolute entities: shape space. In shape space, only the relative orientation and length of subsystems are taken into account. A sufficient requirement for the validity of the principle of relationalism is that by changing a system’s scale variable, all the theory’s parameters that depend on the length, get changed accordingly. In particular, a direct implementation of the principle of relationalism introduces a proper transformation of the coupling constants of the interaction potentials in classical physics. This change leads consequently to a transformation in Planck’s measuring units, which enables us to derive a metric on shape space in a unique way. In order to find out the classical equations of motion on shape space, the method of “symplectic reduction of Hamiltonian systems” is extended to include scale transformations. In particular, we will give the derivation of the reduced Hamiltonian and symplectic form on shape space, and in this way, the reduction of a classical system with respect to the entire similarity group is achieved. (shrink)

This paper deals with a number of technical achievements that are instrumental for a dis-solution of the so-called "Hole Argument" in general relativity. Such achievements include: 1) the analysis of the "Hole" phenomenology in strict connection with the Hamiltonian treatment of the initial value problem. The work is carried through in metric gravity for the class of Christoudoulou-Klainermann space-times, in which the temporal evolution is ruled by the "weak" ADM energy; 2) a re-interpretation of "active" diffeomorphisms as "passive and (...) metric-dependent" dynamical symmetries of Einstein's equations, a re-interpretation which enables to disclose their (up to now unknown) connection to gauge transformations on-shell; understanding such connection also enlightens the real content of the Hole Argument or, better, dis-solves it together with its alleged "indeterminism"; 3) the utilization of the Bergmann-Komar "intrinsic pseudo-coordinates", defined as suitable functionals of the Weyl curvature scalars, as tools for a peculiar gauge-fixing to the super-hamiltonian and super-momentum constraints; 4) the consequent construction of a "physical atlas" of 4-coordinate systems for the 4-dimensional "mathematical" manifold, in terms of the highly non-local degrees of freedom of the gravitational field (its four independent "Dirac observables"). Such construction embodies the "physical individuation" of the points of space-time as "point-events", independently of the presence of matter, and associates a "non-commutative structure" to each gauge fixing or four-dimensional coordinate system; 5) a clarification of the multiple definition given by Peter Bergmann of the concept of "(Bergmann) observable" in general relativity. This clarification leads to the proposal of a "main conjecture" asserting the existence of i) special Dirac's observables which are also Bergmann's observables, ii) gauge variables that are coordinate independent (namely they behave like the tetradic scalar fields of the Newman-Penrose formalism). A by-product of this achievements is the falsification of a recently advanced argument asserting the absence of (any kind of) "change" in the observable quantities of general relativity. 6) a clarification of the physical role of Dirac and gauge variables as their being related to "tidal-like" and "inertial-like" effects, respectively. This clarification is mainly due to the fact that, unlike the standard formulations of the equivalence principle, the Hamiltonian formalism allows to define notion of "force" in general relativity in a natural way; 7) a proposal showing how the physical individuation of point-events could in principle be implemented as an experimental setup and protocol leading to a "standard of space-time" more or less like atomic clocks define standards of time. We conclude that, besides being operationally essential for building measuring apparatuses for the gravitational field, the role of matter in the non-vacuum gravitational case is also that of "participating directly" in the individuation process, being involved in the determination of the Dirac observables. This circumstance leads naturally to a peculiar new kind of "structuralist" view of the general-relativistic concept of space-time, a view that embodies some elements of both the traditional "absolutist" and "relational" conceptions. In the end, space-time point-events maintain a "peculiar sort of objectivity". Some hints following from our approach for the quantum gravity programme are also given. (shrink)

In the spirit of philosophy as the synthesis of wisdom, David Farrell Krell offers a novel bridge between the proper disciplines of philosophy and architecture. His result examines the term “architecture” as one which finds its basis in the Greek root “tic,” which broadens the use of the root tec to suggest not merely a making or producing, but a reproducing or procreating. Krell employs a spectrum of philosophers from Plato to Derrida to position architecture as more than just an (...) enterprise of design, aesthetic planning, and space allocation. He develops the art of archeticture as paying heed to the lived body’s extension into its environment, with a sensitivity for architecture’s role in orchestrating the locus of life. Just as a mother extends herself for her progeny, she first lovingly extends herself into her progeny. In much the same manner, Krell exhorts design specialists to beget their space planning as much as they would craft it. The text calls for a rethinking of lived space from merely considering it as a three-dimensional continuum to conceiving it as an inscrutable receptacle into which we move, produce, and confront our cares and concerns. Krell suggests that architects sensitize themselves to the dynamism of the human body as it interacts with and navigates its environment. (shrink)

Where modern formulations of relatively theory use differentiable manifolds to space-time, Einstein simply used open sets of R 4 , following the then current methods of differential geometry. This fact aids resolution of a number of outstanding puzzles concerning Einstein's use of coordinate systems and covariance principles, including the claimed physical significance of covariance principles, their connection to relativity principles, Einstein's apparent confusion of coordinate systems and frames of reference, and his failure to distinguish active and passive (...) class='Hi'>transformations, especially in the context of his hole and point-coincidence arguments. (shrink)

Complexified Liénard–Wiechert potentials simplify the mathematics of Kerr–Newman particles. Here we constrain them by fiat to move along Bohmian trajectories to see if anything interesting occurs, as their equations of motion are not known. A covariant theory due to Stueckelberg is used. This paper deviates from the traditional Bohmian interpretation of quantum mechanics since the electromagnetic interactions of Kerr–Newman particles are dictated by general relativity. A Gaussian wave function is used to produce the Bohmian trajectories, which are found to be (...) multi-valued. A generalized analytic continuation is introduced which leads to an infinite number of trajectories. These include the entire set of Bohmian trajectories. This leads to multiple retarded times which come into play in complex space-time. If one weights these trajectories by their natural Bohmian weighting factors, then it is found that the particles do not radiate, that they are extended, and that they can have a finite electrostatic self energy, thus avoiding the usual divergence of the charged point particle. This effort does not in any way criticize or downplay the traditional Bohmian interpretation which does not assume the standard electromagnetic coupling to charged particles, but it suggests that a hybridization of Kerr–Newman particle theory with Bohmian mechanics might lead to interesting new physics, and maybe even the possibility of emergent quantum mechanics. (shrink)

In this paper, we continue the study of the Killing symmetries of an N-dimensional generalized Minkowski space, i.e., a space endowed with a metric tensor, whose coefficients do depend on a set of non-metrical coordinates. We discuss here the finite structure of the space–time rotations in such spaces, by confining ourselves to the four-dimensional case. In particular, the results obtained are specialized to the case of a “deformed” Minkowski space M_4, for which we derive the (...) explicit general form of the finite rotations and boosts in different parametric bases. (shrink)

Proofs have been given that the light-cone approximation can be analyzed in terms of the extended quantum-mechanical description of the space-time measurements by the complex numbers. It is then proved that the so established description is able to support both the asymptotical scale-invariant cross sections and the threshold behavior of the high-energy production processes.

The employment by seventeenth-century natural philosophers of stock theological notions like creation, immensity, and eternity in the articulation and justification of emerging physical programs disrupted a delicate but longstanding balance between transcendent and immanent conceptions of God. By playing a prominent (if not always leading) role in many of the major scientific developments of the period, God became more intimately involved with natural processes than at any time since antiquity. In this discussion, I am particularly concerned with the causal (...) and spatio-temporal relations between God and nature in the seventeenth century as recent scholarship has revealed how dramatically traditional conceptions of these relations were transformed by philosophers and scientists like Descartes, Malebranche, More, and Newton. (shrink)