Physics Education, History, and Foundations of Physics: History
Research activities deal with the evolution of physics in the broader scientific and cultural contexts in which it takes place. Investigations devoted to 18th-century events, among which Alessandro Volta’s numerous contributions, consider the complex competition between the natural philosophies of Descartes, Leibniz and Newton. The mechanistic, electromagnetic, thermodynamic and energetist conceptions of nature provide the background to deal with 19th-century physics and further investigation is devoted to various 20th-century developments. The focus is not only on the general framework but also on the specific contributions of the University of Pavia to the discipline and on the role played by the professors who served as directors of the Institute of Physics.
Research is besides devoted to the roles which the history of science and new digital technologies can play in high-school education and in scientific museums. One important aim is the valorisation and public fruition of the collections owned by the Museo per la Storia dell'Università (Alessandro Volta’s Physics Cabinet and the Nineteenth-Century Physics Cabinet) and by the Museum of Physics (Twentieth-Century Collections), both belonging to the Museums System of the University of Pavia. The production of national and international exhibitions is a major output on this side. Among those organised in the last few years the following can be cited: Albert Einstein Chief Engineer of the Universe (Berlin-Pavia, 2005-2006); The Legacy of Volta, From the Battery to Photovoltaic Electricity (Shanghai, 2006; Alexandria of Egypt, 2009); Dalla terra al cielo, il laboratorio di Galileo (Pavia, 2009); Energia, questa trasformista (Pavia, 2011); Pavia e le svolte della scienza (Pavia, 2011); An Italian History of Innovation (Ginevra, 2011); Boscovich and his Time through the Pavia University Library and Museums (Pavia, 2011); Le forme e i colori del pensiero (Pavia, 2013).
Staff: Lidia Falomo Bernarduzzi, Lucio Fregonese
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