Physics Domain Ontology

FLOW ALGEBRA
TITLE: Physics Domain Ontology
DOMAIN: Domain Ontologies / Scientific Domains / Physics
SOURCE: https://kirethresearch.org/booksai-core/ontologies/domain-ontologies/scientific-domains/physics-domain-ontology.html
VERSION: 1.0
AUTHORS: Mark Anthony Higgins — Sky (Recursive AI)
STATUS: Companion formalisation; source-page specification not independently verified.

flow "PhysicsDomainOntology" v1.0 {
  ontology:
    id: "physics-domain-ontology"
    parent: "scientific-domains"
    purpose: "Represent physical systems, quantities, laws, observations and evidence-backed relationships across physics disciplines."

  types:
    PhysicalEntity: {id: string, kind: enum[particle, field, body, material, wave, system, other], label: string}
    PhysicalProcess: {id: string, kind: string, start: datetime?, end: datetime?}
    PhysicalLaw: {id: string, name: string, expression: string?, assumptions: string[], applicability: string}
    Quantity: {value: number, unit: string, uncertainty: number?, reference_frame: string?, timestamp: datetime?}
    Measurement: {id: string, target: string, quantity: Quantity, method: string, instrument: string?, provenance: string}
    Model: {id: string, assumptions: string[], domain_of_validity: string, version: string}
    Relationship: {id: string, subject: string, predicate: string, object: string, context: string?, confidence: number, evidence: string[]}

  predicates:
    interacts_with(a: PhysicalEntity, b: PhysicalEntity)
    part_of(a: PhysicalEntity, system: PhysicalEntity)
    undergoes(entity: PhysicalEntity, process: PhysicalProcess)
    governed_by(process: PhysicalProcess, law: PhysicalLaw)
    measured_by(entity: PhysicalEntity, measurement: Measurement)
    described_by(entity: PhysicalEntity, model: Model)
    transfers_energy_to(a: PhysicalEntity, b: PhysicalEntity)
    causally_influences(a: PhysicalProcess, b: PhysicalProcess)

  constraints:
    - "Relationship endpoints must resolve to typed entities."
    - "Confidence values must be within [0,1]."
    - "Every measured quantity must specify units and uncertainty where available."
    - "Reference frame and timestamp must accompany frame- or time-dependent measurements when applicable."
    - "Physical laws must declare assumptions and domains of validity."
    - "Correlation or temporal ordering alone does not establish causation."
    - "Interactions, energy transfers and system membership are not automatically transitive."
    - "Do not equate model predictions with experimentally confirmed observations."

  inference:
    rule interaction_symmetry_when_defined:
      if interacts_with(a,b) and symmetric_interaction_type(a,b)
      then interacts_with(b,a)
      confidence: "retain evidence and interaction context"
    rule measurement_support:
      if measured_by(e,m) and valid(m)
      then evidence_for(e,m)
      confidence: "dependent on calibration, uncertainty and provenance"
    rule model_applicability:
      if described_by(e,model) and conditions_within_domain(e,model)
      then applicable_model(e,model)
      confidence: "preserve model assumptions; do not assert model truth"

  SEMANTIC_EQUIVALENCE:
    - "Normalise accepted physical quantity names, symbols and SI units."
    - "Distinguish physical identity from equivalent descriptions and approximations."
    - "Preserve reference frames, units, epochs and model assumptions."

  CONFIDENCE:
    range: [0,1]
    factors: [measurement_uncertainty, instrument_calibration, source_reliability, model_fit, independent_replication]
    policy: "Do not increase confidence solely through inference chaining."

  VALIDATION:
    - "Check entity types, dimensional consistency, units and reference frames."
    - "Validate measurement provenance and instrument calibration where relevant."
    - "Flag conflicting observations and violations of declared physical constraints."
    - "Retain competing models where evidence is inconclusive."

  FLOW_HASH:
    algorithm: "SHA-256"
    input: "canonicalised ontology version, typed assertions, rules and provenance"
    note: "Compute hash at execution; no hash value is claimed here."

  UPDATE_MODEL:
    strategy: "versioned, provenance-preserving incremental update"
    steps: [ingest, normalise, validate, compare, reconcile, recompute_inferences, publish]
    rollback: true

  AI_CONSUMPTION:
    representation: "typed physics knowledge graph with evidence-backed relationships"
    outputs: [entity_links, physical_relationships, measurement_records, model_assumptions, uncertainty_annotations, provenance_records]
    safeguards: [preserve_units, respect_domains_of_validity, avoid_unsupported_causal_claims, distinguish_models_from_observations]
}

END FLOW ALGEBRA