A short insight about Thought experiment in Modern Physics

During the XX century thought experiment, as a feature of contemporary science, was extremely developed. It has been around since the Ancient Greece. Even then it was used as a scientific method (both in natural and social sciences). This work is based on physics, regarding that its author, who is physicist himself finds the best way in it. Thought experiment can be found in many sciences, and its real character is going to be discovered only when similar analyses (for example like this one) were made within each science. There are three classes of experiment: numerical, thought and laboratory. They, all together, have some identical and some different chracteristics. Here we will talk about thought experiment. The beginning of 20-th century can be induced as a period of thought experiment's "real" appearing in physics. Thought experiments existed before 20-th century, as it's going to be seen through the examples, but their actual expansion started when the theories of relativity and of quantum mechanics were founded. Firstly A. Einstein and then a plied of first-class physicists begun to attach much importance to the thought experiment. This period 2 is a period of huge changes in physics; a period when the basic physics' standards were revitalized; a period when scientists were looking for new recipes and when it was obvious that classical physics had been holding back an open possibility for someone to say something new in a different way. By the end of 19-th century it was expected that classical physics and Maxwell's electrodynamics systems was about to be closed 3 and after than, during the first thirty years of this century the "world's picture" was completely changed. The term "quantum" has been brought into physics by German physicist M. Planck in 1900. A couple of years later first A. Einstein works, connected to the Special Theory of Relativity (STR) and photo effect, appeared. The base for expanding of quantum mechanics and theory of relativity has been made the limitations in making statements and new theories were a big problem for all physicists. They were not able to present theories of relativity an quantum mechanics because they didn't have appropriate "terms" to describe them with. At that time the research of these theories introduced new levels of abstractions which led towards thinking collisions completely "now set of problems" (so called "untouchable" problems) were studied. Even contemporary physics was forced to find new methods in order to solve and explain them. Stating of classical physics wasn't consistent while dealing with problem in quantum mechanics or in theory of relativity. There was a need for a "new physics" which would be somehow closer to it's manners as well as to it's users. This endless attempts to find the way of overcoming the situation which was gained by "terminological and conceptions confusion", in the anticipated scientific break, revealed thought experiment as a form of abstract thinking which enables special approach to solving, presenting and connecting of certain problems. A man reacts on the world around him with the help of his senses. Their number is restricted (sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch), as well as each sense's function is restricted (for example limit for sight is 400nm-700nm or for hearing is 20Hz-20000Hz). Indirect experiment is when a laboratory is carrled out in the interval if senses' limitations. Physicists of 20-th century were mainly interested in this directly perceptive world. In favor to that thought experiment was founded as one of the possibilities to find out discover something. It was founded in the same time of founding of theory of relativity and quantum mechanics which deal with physic fields that are indirectly accessible to the senses. Quantum mechanics is a part of physics which begins at the crossing from "macro" (accessible to the senses) into "micro" (inaccessible to the senses) world; the world where current laws contradict classical way of thinking about macro world. Special theory of relativity is a part of physics that begins at the crossing from "slow" (accessible to the senses) into "fast" (inaccessible to the senses). "Micro" and "fast" is "inaccessible" and this is one of the ways, except mathematics, to build up realizations of events which had happened within those domains and to imagine how would all look like. Thought experiments are those experiments which are conducted imaginative world, but not out of thoughts. In order to satisfy intuition and knowledge relations with groups of notions and familiar ideas are made. They are different believes of what in fact is a thought experiment. In this work the author supports the idea of an Austrian physicist and philosopher E. Mach who thinks that a thought experiment is any experiment that hasn't been realized yet. There is a pattern explained here which will help us to prove of the experiment is thought experiment or not.

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