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A 4 T 3 Egtwrge 7

The document discusses David Hilbert's sixth problem from his 1900 address, which concerned developing mathematical treatments of the axioms of physics. Specifically, Hilbert hoped that future rigorous investigations would clarify the transition from models of particle dynamics following Newton's laws (the atomistic view) to macroscopic descriptions of fluids and gases. More broadly, Hilbert outlined the role of mathematics in investigating connections between different mathematical models of the real world. The document notes that Hilbert's problems explicitly addressed rigorously connecting microscopic physics and the kinetic theory of gases to fluid descriptions of macroscopic matter.

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26 views1 page

A 4 T 3 Egtwrge 7

The document discusses David Hilbert's sixth problem from his 1900 address, which concerned developing mathematical treatments of the axioms of physics. Specifically, Hilbert hoped that future rigorous investigations would clarify the transition from models of particle dynamics following Newton's laws (the atomistic view) to macroscopic descriptions of fluids and gases. More broadly, Hilbert outlined the role of mathematics in investigating connections between different mathematical models of the real world. The document notes that Hilbert's problems explicitly addressed rigorously connecting microscopic physics and the kinetic theory of gases to fluid descriptions of macroscopic matter.

Uploaded by

heaan.lasai
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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From particles to fluids 3

1. Introduction

The famous German mathematician David Hilbert, in his well-known speech at the Interna-
tional Congress of Mathematicians in Paris in 1900 [56], addressed the audience towards
23 problems which should be the basis of the mathematical research in the forthcoming
century. Among those, the sixth problem is rather a future field of investigation and con-
cerns the role of Mathematics in Physics. It reads:

MATHEMATICAL TREATMENT OF THE AXIOMS OF PHYSICS

The investigations on the foundation of geometry suggest . . . to treat in the same manner, by means
of axioms, those physical sciences in which mathematics play an important part; in the first rank
are the theory of probabilities and mechanics.

At a first sight it seems that the problem is to have a complete formalization of that part
of Mathematics necessary for the treatment of Physics and nowadays we know how this
could be meaningless. Of course Hilbert means something different as he explains later:
As to the axioms of the Theory of probabilities, it seems to me desirable that their logical investi-
gation should be accompanied by a rigorous and satisfactory development of the method of mean
values in Mathematical Physics, and in particular in the kinetic theory of gases. Important inves-
tigations by physicists on the foundations of mechanics are at hand . . . Thus Boltzmann’s work
on the principles of mechanics suggests the problem of developing mathematically the limiting
processes, there merely indicated, which lead from the atomistic view to the laws of the motion of
continua.

It is now clear that Hilbert’s hope is that future investigations, logically well founded and
mathematically rigorous, will clarify the transition from the fundamental model of the par-
ticle dynamics described by the Newton laws (atomistic view) to the macroscopic pictures
which are usually used for fluids or rarefied gases.
More generally, in the sixth problem the role of the Mathematics in investigating how
different mathematical models of the real world are connected is precisely outlined:
. . . the mathematician has the duty to test exactly in each instance whether the new axioms are
compatible with the previous ones. The physicist, as his theories develop, often finds himself
forced by the results of the experiments to make new hypotheses, while he depends, with respect
to the compatibility of the new hypotheses with the old axioms, solely upon these experiments or
upon certain physical intuition, a practice which in the rigorously logical building up of a theory
is not admissible.

Therefore to clarify the scopes and methodologies of a physicist and a mathematician in


some sense Hilbert establishes the role of the modern Mathematical Physics in which the
concept of the mathematical model, that is a noncontradictory system of axioms, is funda-
mental.
As we mentioned before, the problems explicitly outlined by Hilbert are about the rig-
orous connection between the microscopic Physics and the Kinetic Theory of dilute gases
and, more generally the fluid description of the macroscopic matter.
In the present chapter we want to review the most important steps forward developed in
the last century as regards these problems which, we anticipate, are far to be completely
solved.

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