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

Page 1: 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.