"'I am taking what you have told me, and what is in this book, and what I have seen and heard, and making an imagining from them.'
"'A hypothesis,' I said, 'That is what Windlow called it. A hypothesis; an imagining which might be true.'" - "The True Game: Wizard's Eleven", Sheri S. Tepper
How often have you heard an idea is "only a theory", for example, evolution? Often others retort that gravity is only a theory, but don't walk off a cliff.
All of us should learn to use each word in its proper context. A hypothesis is an idea that has some basis in facts, but not enough facts are known yet. A theory is an idea that has a preponderance of facts to substantiate it. The "four corners of the earth" was a hypothesis based on limited geographical knowledge. A round earth is a theory based on so much evidence that few of us question whether the earth is round or not.
How many of us are going to use "hypothesis" instead of "theory"? My hypothesis is that few of us, including me, are going to use these words properly.
Showing posts with label gravity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gravity. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, August 17, 2009
Science and the real world
"Nature knows nothing of the scientific laws we cook up. Nature does its own thing."
- "Physics is always a work in progress", unattributed, Reader Weekly, 2009-08-13
Newton's gravitational theory works fine for life on earth and space travel within the solar system. It doesn't work for GPS satellites. Time is faster at the altitude of the satellites than it is on the surface of the earth. Time is probably not that much faster away from the earth to affect calculations for space travel, but it is sufficiently faster to affect calculations down to a few meters on earth. To make these calculations, GPS satellite engineers have to use Einstein's theory of relativity.
Max Planck's law of thermal radiation has been used in many applications involving heat generation and transmission. His law breaks down at the tiny distances now being used in hard-disk recording devices. The recording head heats up more than would be predicted by Planck's law.
"What we call law today eventually breaks down, new opportunities for scientific and engineering progress usually appear."
- Ibid.
- "Physics is always a work in progress", unattributed, Reader Weekly, 2009-08-13
Newton's gravitational theory works fine for life on earth and space travel within the solar system. It doesn't work for GPS satellites. Time is faster at the altitude of the satellites than it is on the surface of the earth. Time is probably not that much faster away from the earth to affect calculations for space travel, but it is sufficiently faster to affect calculations down to a few meters on earth. To make these calculations, GPS satellite engineers have to use Einstein's theory of relativity.
Max Planck's law of thermal radiation has been used in many applications involving heat generation and transmission. His law breaks down at the tiny distances now being used in hard-disk recording devices. The recording head heats up more than would be predicted by Planck's law.
"What we call law today eventually breaks down, new opportunities for scientific and engineering progress usually appear."
- Ibid.
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