To envision a new particle or change an existing law? Hypothesis formation and anomaly resolution for the curious case of the β decay spectrum |
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| Institution: | 1. Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP), Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan;2. Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan;3. Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui, Fukui 910-8507, Japan;4. Faculty of Integrated Arts and Science, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima 770-8502, Japan;5. Faculty of Human Environment, Osaka Sangyo University, Daito, Osaka 574-8530, Japan;6. Faculty of Culture and Education, Saga University, Saga 840-8502, Japan;7. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan;1. Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;2. School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;1. Center for Space Science and Astrophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;2. Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA;3. Edwards Air Force Base, CA 93524, USA;4. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA;5. Department of Physics, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, USA;6. NASA/Ames Research Center, MS 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA;1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 243, Taiwan, R.O.C;2. Battery Research Center of Green Energy, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 243, Taiwan, ROC |
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| Abstract: | This paper addresses the question of how scientists determine which type of hypothesis is most suitable for tackling a particular problem by examining the historical case of the anomalous β spectrum in early nuclear physics (1927–1934), a puzzle that occasioned the most diverse hypotheses amongst physicists at the time. It is shown that such determinations are most often implicitly informed by scientists' individual perspectives on the structural relations between the various elements of the theory and the problem at hand. In addition to this main result, it is suggested that Wolfgang Pauli's neutrino idea may well have been an adaptation of Ernst Rutherford's original and older neutron idea, which would provide evidence that the adaptation of older ideas is a more common practice than is often thought. |
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| Keywords: | Hypothesis formation β Spectrum Early nuclear physics Neutrino Energy conservation |
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