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    Weyl abandoned his 1918 gauge theory around 1927/28 becau... — Carmelics
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    Weyl abandoned his 1918 gauge theory around 1927/28 because quantum mechanics provided a superior account of electric charge conservation.

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    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.The quantum theory of the electron, developed around 1927/28, introduced a different kind of gauge invariance associated with Dirac's theory of the electron.
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    • 2.Fock (1926) and London (1927) suggested that this new quantum-mechanical gauge invariance more adequately accounted for the conservation of electric charge than Weyl's 1918 gauge theory did.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against 1 of 2
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    • 1.Weyl's 1929 reformulation retained gauge invariance as a core structural principle, indicating conceptual continuity rather than abandonment.
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    • 2.A theorist who merely 'abandoned' a framework would not systematically reconstruct it within the new quantum context, as Weyl demonstrably did.
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    • 3.The shift from length rescaling to phase invariance represents a refinement of Weyl's research program, not its rejection in favor of a superior rival.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
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    • 1.The causal claim that quantum mechanics 'provided' the reason for abandonment conflates temporal succession with explanatory displacement.
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    • 2.Weyl himself in 1929 credited Einstein's criticism of the physical interpretation of length gauge—not quantum mechanics—as the primary motivation for revision.
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    • 3.Fock's and London's contributions redeployed Weyl's mathematical apparatus rather than superseding it, undermining the claim of quantum mechanics as a 'superior account'.
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    Related

    A theorist who merely 'abandoned' a framework would not systematically reconstru...Fock (1926) and London (1927) suggested that this new quantum-mechanical gauge i...Fock's and London's contributions redeployed Weyl's mathematical apparatus rathe...The causal claim that quantum mechanics 'provided' the reason for abandonment co...
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    The quantum theory of the electron, developed around 1927/28, introduced a diffe...The shift from length rescaling to phase invariance represents a refinement of W...Weyl himself in 1929 credited Einstein's criticism of the physical interpretatio...Weyl's 1929 reformulation retained gauge invariance as a core structural princip...

    Similar

    Fock (1926) and London (1927) suggested that this new quantum-mechanic...86%The quantum theory of the electron, developed around 1927/28, introduc...78%Einstein, Pauli, and others mounted a preponderance of compelling empi...75%Weyl retained his 1918 unified field theory for nearly a decade despit...74%

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    With the advent of the quantum theory of the electron around 1927/28 Weyl abandoned his gauge theory of 1918. He did so because in the new quantum theory a different kind of gauge invariance associated with Dirac’s theory of the electron was discovered which, as had been suggested by Fock (1926) and London (1927), more adequately accounted for the conservation of electric charge.[92] Why did Weyl hold on to his gauge theory for almost a decade despite a preponderance of compelling empiric
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    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit