La Fisica: scienza e linguaggio

An analysis of the character and structure of the physical description of the world starts by discussing a simple case of measurement in geometry. In the relationship between linear dimensions and surface extent of similar plane figures one can distinguish (i) a general part that does not depend on the particular figure and (ii) a numerical parameter that depends on the figure and on the linear element that is being considered. Transferred to the richer and more diverse context of physics, the two parts are the analogues of (i) physical law that governs the general aspects of the same kind of phenomena and (ii) initial conditions that determine the details of their happening…