Elons Little Plan

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
how possibly? He had no theory of gravity.
General relativity, special relativity didn't, but he gave us some tantalizing clues about space/time. We obviously don't have all the answers in physics, perhaps not even close, but one thing science does do, is constrain possibilities, or probabilities if ya wanna go quantum.
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
General relativity, special relativity didn't, but he gave us some tantalizing clues about space/time. We obviously don't have all the answers in physics, perhaps not even close, but one thing science does do, is constrain possibilities, or probabilities if ya wanna go quantum.
does not contain any theory of gravitation.

To expand: Newton had no theory of gravitation either. What he did is formulate a mathematically precise law of gravity.

The distinction is this: a law describes what the thing does; a theory describes how or why the thing does the thing. Newton’s laws, and Einstein’s extension of them, are laws, not theories.

You’ll often read Newton’s law called a theory, even by those who ought to know better. It’s a misnomer.
 
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DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
does not contain any theory of gravitation.

To expand: Newton had no theory of gravitation either. What he did is formulate a mathematically precise law of gravity.

The distinction is this: a law describes what the thing does; a theory describes how or why the thing does the thing. Newton’s laws, and Einstein’s extension of them, are laws, not theories.
Quantum gravity is a theory that grapples with the mechanism, not the effects. We are discussing the effects when we speak of space/time and getting off the earth in a rocket. We don't even know if dark matter exists or what most of the universe is made of, yet.
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
Quantum gravity is a theory that grapples with the mechanism, not the effects. We are discussing the effects when we speak of space/time and getting off the earth in a rocket. We don't even know if dark matter exists or what most of the universe is made off, yet.
Quantum gravity is speculative. Scientists (the literate ones; some are shockingly bad at language) reserve the term theory for something more established, e. g. evolution via natural selection.
 

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
Quantum gravity is speculative. Scientists (the literate ones; some are shockingly bad at language) reserve the term theory for something more established, e. g. evolution via natural selection.
Generally, when someone wins a Nobel for it like relativity or quantum mechanics, it is taken as a theory at least in terminology, Nobels tend to lean towards the more pragmatic and concrete examples of science as well as the leading edges. We have competing theories of reality, one for the large-scale universe, Newton for everyday use and quantum theory for the small. All describe aspects of a yet undiscovered understanding, assuming we are equipped to understand it at all.
 

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
the natural-science Nobels are awarded for experimental work, not for theory. Einstein’s Nobel was for the photoelectric effect, not for relativity. The Higgs has experiment to back it.
True, my bad, but they do award nobles for more than experiments, for the theories that underpin them too and are proven by them.
 

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
Generally, when someone wins a Nobel for it like relativity or quantum mechanics, it is taken as a theory at least in terminology, Nobels tend to lean towards the more pragmatic and concrete examples of science as well as the leading edges. We have competing theories of reality, one for the large-scale universe, Newton for everyday use and quantum theory for the small. All describe aspects of a yet undiscovered understanding, assuming we are equipped to understand it at all.
and this validates your original statement how?
 
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