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HowStuffWorks _10 Scientific Laws and Theories You Really Should Know
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10 Scientific Laws and Theories You Really Should Know by Jacob Silverman Home / Science / Innovation / Scientific Experiments MORE STUFF LIKE THIS 10 Real Animals That Seem Make- believe 10 Green Structural Engineering Marvels Puzzle: Nuclear Power Plant 1835 Tweet 331 238 3.8k Like MORE TO EXPLORE [?] 10 Common Sayings You're Probably Saying Wrong HowStuffWorks "Mysterious Marine Animal Pictures" 10 Everyday Things You're Probably Doing the Hard Way Top 5 Ways to Get Smarter What Kind of Wireless Service Can You Get on Everest? Top 10 Myths About the Brain 5 Everyday Things You Can Do to Keep Your Computer Healthy HowStuffWorks "Cool Camera Stuff Pictures" 10 Absolutely Worst Foods to Eat Are You Guilty of These Common Technology Blunders? Sponsored Sponsored » Start the Countdown | Print Citation & Date Feedback | Whether we're launching a space shuttle or trying to discover another Earth-like planet, we rely on scientific laws and theories to guide us. Photo courtesy NASA/Sandy Joseph, Robert Murray Scientists have many tools available to them when attempting to describe how nature and the universe at large work. Often they reach for laws and theories first. What's the difference? A scientific law can often be reduced to a mathematical statement, such as E = mc²; it's a specific statement based on empirical data, and its truth is generally confined to a certain set of conditions. For example, in the case of E = mc², c refers to the speed of light in a vacuum. A scientific theory often seeks to synthesize a body of evidence or observations of particular phenomena. It's generally -- though by no means always -- a grander, testable statement about how nature operates. You can't necessarily reduce a scientific theory to a pithy statement or equation, but it does represent something fundamental about how nature works. Both laws and theories depend on basic elements of the scientific method, such as generating a hypothesis, testing that premise, finding (or not finding) empirical evidence and coming up with conclusions. Eventually, other scientists must be able to replicate the results if the experiment is destined to become the basis for a widely accepted law or theory. In this article, we'll look at 10 scientific laws and theories that you might want to brush up on, even if you don't find yourself, say, operating a scanning electron microscope all that frequently. We'll start off with a bang and move on to the basic laws of the universe, before hitting evolution. Finally, we'll tackle some headier material, delving into the realm of quantum physics.
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10 Scientific Laws and Theories You Really Should Know
Transcript of HowStuffWorks _10 Scientific Laws and Theories You Really Should Know
10 Scientific Laws and Theories YouReally Should Knowby Jacob Silverman
Home / Science / Innovation / Scientif ic Experiments
MORE STUFFLIKE THIS
10 Real AnimalsThat Seem Make-believe
10 GreenStructuralEngineeringMarvels
Puzzle: NuclearPower Plant
1835 Tweet 331 2383.8kLike
MORE TO EXPLORE
[?]
10 Common
Sayings You're
Probably Saying
Wrong
HowStuffWorks
"Mysterious Marine
Animal Pictures"
10 Everyday Things
You're Probably
Doing the Hard Way
Top 5 Ways to Get
Smarter
What Kind of
Wireless Service
Can You Get on
Everest?
Top 10 Myths About
the Brain
5 Everyday Things
You Can Do to Keep
Your Computer
Healthy
HowStuffWorks
"Cool Camera Stuff
Pictures"
10 Absolutely Worst
Foods to Eat
Are You Guilty of
These Common
Technology
Blunders?
Sponsored
Sponsored
» Start the Countdown |
Print Citation & Date Feedback
|
Whether we're launching aspace shuttle or trying todiscover another Earth-likeplanet, we rely on scientific lawsand theories to guide us.Photo courtesy NASA/SandyJoseph, Robert Murray
Scientists have many tools available to them when attempting to
describe how nature and the universe at large work. Often they reach
for laws and theories first. What's the difference? A scientific law can
often be reduced to a mathematical statement, such as E = mc²; it's a
specific statement based on empirical data, and its truth is generally
confined to a certain set of conditions. For example, in the case of E =
mc², c refers to the speed of light in a vacuum.
A scientific theory often seeks to synthesize a body of evidence or
observations of particular phenomena. It's generally -- though by no
means always -- a grander, testable statement about how nature
operates. You can't necessarily reduce a scientific theory to a pithy
statement or equation, but it does represent something fundamental
about how nature works.
Both laws and theories depend on basic elements of the scientific
method, such as generating a hypothesis, testing that premise, finding
(or not finding) empirical evidence and coming up with conclusions.
Eventually, other scientists must be able to replicate the results if the
experiment is destined to become the basis for a widely accepted law
or theory.
In this article, we'll look at 10 scientific laws and theories that you might want to brush up on, even if you
don't find yourself, say, operating a scanning electron microscope all that frequently. We'll start off with a
bang and move on to the basic laws of the universe, before hitting evolution. Finally, we'll tackle some headier
material, delving into the realm of quantum physics.
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