The concept of observability of entities in physical science is
typically analyzed in terms of the nature and significance of a
dichotomy between observables and unobservables. In this book, however,
this categorization is resisted and observability is analyzed in a
descriptive way in terms of the information which one can receive
through interaction with objects in the world. The account of
interaction and the transfer of information is done using applicable
scientific theories. In this way the question of observability of
scientific entities is put to science itself. Several examples are
presented which show how this interaction-information account of
observability is done. It is demonstrated that observability has many
dimensions which are in general orthogonal. The epistemic significance
of these dimensions is explained. This study is intended primarily as a
method for understanding problems of observability rather than as a
solution to those problems. The important issue of scientific realism
and its relation to observability, however, demands attention. Hence,
the implication of the interaction-information account for realism is
drawn in terms of the epistemic significance of the dimensions of
observability. This amounts to specifying what it is about good
observations that make them objective evidence for scientific theories.