Weak ergodicity breaking vs. determinism of physical processes Cover Image

Słabe łamanie ergodyczności vs. determinizm
Weak ergodicity breaking vs. determinism of physical processes

Author(s): Andrzej Fuliński
Subject(s): Philosophy of Science
Published by: Copernicus Center Press
Keywords: Boltzmann hypothesis; ergodic theory; deterministic chaos; Brownian motion; anomalous diffusion; single-particle trajectory;

Summary/Abstract: All physical processes are deterministic de iure. Physicists speak about different types of determinism of physical processes, depending on the degree with which their course can be anticipated. Usually, the course of ergodic processes can be predicted with less certainty than the non-ergodic ones, the latter being integrable. Recent measurements of motions of single particles in composite systems, especially in living biological cells, show that such motions are, in most cases, breaking the Boltzmann’s ergodic hypothesis. On the other hand, their trajectories are random, i.e., one cannot know a priori where the particle will be even in near future. This leads to conclusion that many existing in nature processes are nonergodic but not integrable, therefore predictable only in the mean, representing still other type of determinism.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 59
  • Page Range: 83-100
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish