Informing Physics: Jacob Bekenstein and the Informational Turn in Theoretical Physics |
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Authors: | Israel Belfer |
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Institution: | 1. The Jacques Loeb Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Building 72,?Room 635, P. O. Box 653, 84105, Beer Sheva, Israel
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Abstract: | In his PhD dissertation in the early 1970s, the Mexican-Israeli theoretical physicist Jacob Bekenstein developed the thermodynamics of black holes using a generalized version of the second law of thermodynamics. This work made it possible for physicists to describe and analyze black holes using information-theoretical concepts. It also helped to transform information theory into a fundamental and foundational concept in theoretical physics. The story of Bekenstein’s work—which was initially opposed by many scientists, including Stephen Hawking—highlights the transformation within physics towards an information-oriented scientific mode of theorizing. This “informational turn” amounted to a mild-mannered revolution within physics, revolutionary without being rebellious. |
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