Prelude considerations on the advent of contemporary physics

Abstract

This essay results from an introductory and parsimonious inquiry into the transformation of scientific and epistemological worldview in the 20th century. First, the foundational concepts of Special Relativity and General Relativity are analyzed, aiming to list the main dissonances between Albert Einstein's scientific proposal and the worldview established by classical physics. Then, the famous experience of Edwin Hubble, responsible for the origin of the Big-Bang Theory, is invoked. As expected, this is also the subject of a careful examination. Finally, the reflection extends to the indeterministic domain of quantum mechanics, with the purpose of examining its fundamental principles. In order to ensure the fulfillment of this aim, the work does not shy away from the requirement to highlight certain elementary features of the doctrines of Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. In short, the brief study presented here seeks, above all, to bring into effect the theoretical elements that anchor the understanding of physics and cosmology in our days, problematizing, when necessary, some of their inferences.