Читать книгу Geology For Dummies - Alecia M. Spooner - Страница 37

Scientific theories are not waiting to blossom someday into scientific laws. Laws and theories in science are two very different things.

 A scientific law describes an observed action that, when repeated many times, is always the same. For example the law of gravity states that two objects will move toward one another. This movement is observed every time you drop something. The object you drop is attracted to the earth. The law of gravity simply describes this action, which is demonstrated to be the same in every test.

 A scientific theory explains how a set of observations are related. For example, the theory of gravity seeks to explain how the relationship of two objects (their relative size, weight, and distance from each other) results in the observed interaction described by the law of gravity.Both a scientific law and a scientific theory could be accurately described as “fact.” Both are developed out of hypotheses that have been tested and proved true. A well-tested and generally accepted theory is considered true even though it may still be tested by the proposal of new hypotheses and experimentation. In some cases, part of a theory may be shown to be untrue, in which case the theory will be adjusted to accommodate this new truth without the entire theory being called into question.