Making and remaking quantum field theory

Abstract

In this thesis, I examine two episodes in the history of quantum field theory using different research techniques and historiographic approaches. The first episode occurred during the 1920's and 1930's when quantum mechanics and relativity were being reconciled. I present some of the central developments of that episode using an approach that relates questions asked by physicists to the structures of putative natural kinds upon which they predicated their research. The second episode occurred during the 1960's and 1970's when important features of quantum field theory were given new interpretations that arose from the exchange of methods and insights between particle physics, solid state physics, statistical mechanics and physical chemistry. Research for the second episode was conducted in collaboration with other historians and scientists using novel web-based and database-backed research tools.