On the Limitations of Thought Experiments in Physics and the Consequences for Physics Education |
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| Authors: | Reiner Miriam Burko Lior M |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Education in Technology and Science, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel;(2) Department of Physics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112;(3) Department of Physics, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel |
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| Abstract: | Thought experiments (TEs) play a central role in physics. Wesuggest that erroneous TEs may be as important as correct TEs,and that both have a special role in an ongoing process ofconceptual refinement for physicists and for naive physicslearners. We analyze TEs related to stellar evolution andgeneral relativity made by Schwarzschild, Eddington, Landau,and Einstein. We identify the stages at which crucial errorsare done in these TEs, and the cognitive processes which leadto these errors. We argue that necessary conditions for asuccessful TE (i.e., a TE which leads to correct conclusions)are self-consistency and comprehensiveness of the relevantpicture of the world. We show that the TEs by expert physicistsand TEs by students are similar on a metacognitive level, butdifferent in details. Students' erroneous reasoning occur inall stages of a TE, whereas physicists usually make errors inthe first two stages of TEs. Then we bring evidence that Tesare more prone to errors than laboratory experiments. Next wediscuss the implications for naive physics learners, and makesuggestion for using TEs in physics education. |
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