Scientific Theories

SCIENTIFIC THEORY

• It is a systematical ideational structure of broad scope, conceived by the human

imagination, that encompasses a family of empirical (experiential) laws regarding
regularities existing in objects and events, both observed and posited.
• It is a structure suggested by these laws and is devised to explain them in a
scientifically rational manner.
• It 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.
Hubble's Law of Cosmic Expansion

• This Law was proposed after Edwin Hubble proved that there were other
galaxies besides the Milky Way, and that these galaxies were zipping
away from our own, a motion he called recession.
• In order to quantify the velocity of this galactic movement, Hubble
proposed Hubble's Law of Cosmic Expansion, aka Hubble's law, an
equation that states: velocity = H × distance. Velocity represents the
galaxy's recessional velocity; H is the Hubble constant, or parameter
that indicates the rate at which the universe is expanding; and distance
is the galaxy's distance from the one with which it's being compared.
• Hubble's constant has been calculated at different values over time, but
the current accepted value is 70 kilometers/second per megaparsec, the
latter beig a unit of distance in intergalactic space.
Hubble's Law of Cosmic Expansion

Importance
• What matters most is that Hubble's law provides a concise method for
measuring a galaxy's velocity in relation to our own. And perhaps most
significantly, the law established that the universe is made up of many galaxies,
whose movements trace back to the big bang.
• Hubble’s law is considered to be so important because of the value of the
Hubble constant, H, which is used for determining the exact age of the
universe. It also helps in understanding Dark matter and Dark energy.
Applications
• Hubble’s law is used for understanding the motion of astronomical objects due
to the expansion of the universe. This was first used for studying the expansion
of the universe and is used as the evidence for the big bang model.
Kepler's Law of Planetary Motion

Kepler's three laws of planetary motion — formed in the early 17th century — describe how
planets orbit the sun.
1st Law: Law of Orbits
• It states that planets orbit the sun elliptically.
2nd Law: Law of Areas
• It states that a line connecting a planet to the sun covers an equal area over equal periods of
time. In other words, if you're measuring the area created by drawing a line from Earth to the
sun and tracking Earth's movement over 30 days, the area will be the same no matter where
Earth is in its orbit when measurements begin.
3rd Law: Law of Periods
• It allows us to establish a clear relationship between a planet's orbital period and its distance
from the sun.
• Thanks to this law, we know that a planet relatively close to the sun, like Venus, has a far
briefer orbital period than a distant planet, such as Neptune.
Kepler's Law of Planetary Motion

Application
• Kepler’s law applies to any satellite. These laws apply to natural satellites such
as the moon as well as artificial man-made satellites. Depending on its purpose,
a satellite can be initiated into space into an elliptical orbit or an almost
circular orbit.
• There are hundreds of satellites in operation. They are used for diverse
purposes such as weather forecasting, television signal, amateur radio and
internet communications and the Global Positioning System. They are also used
to look outward at the solar system for research and data gathering purposes.
• They have been used to predict the orbits of many objects such as asteroids and
comets , and were pivotal in the discovery of dark matter in the Milky Way.
Law of Thermodynamics

• Thermodynamics is the study of how energy works in a system, whether it's an

engine or Earth's core.
• The laws of thermodynamics are very important in our day to day life as all the
four laws govern the universe. Every single thing which happens around us
shows the importance of the laws of thermodynamics.
• It gives the concept of thermal equilibrium
• It gives us the concept of energy conservation
• It tells us whether the process will occur on its own or not?
• Thermodynamics gives the foundation for heat engines, power plants, chemical
reactions, refrigerators, and many more important concepts that the world we
live in today relies on. Beginning to understand thermodynamics requires
knowledge of how the microscopic world operates.
Law of Thermodynamics

Application
• Heating and cooling systems in our homes and other buildings,
engines that power our motor vehicles, even the design of
buildings and vehicles, all incorporate information from
thermodynamics to make them perform well.
Evolution and Natural Selection

• According to most scientists, all life on Earth has a common ancestor.

But in order to produce the immense amount of difference among all
living organisms, certain ones had to evolve into distinct species.
• In a basic sense, this differentiation occurred through evolution, through
descent with modification. Populations of organisms developed different
traits, through mechanisms such as mutation.
• It's possible to expand upon both of these theories at greater length, but
this is the basic, and groundbreaking, discovery that Darwin made in the
19th century: that evolution through natural selection accounts for the
tremendous diversity of life on Earth.
Evolution and Natural Selection

Applications
• A major technological application of evolution is artificial
selection, which is the intentional selection of certain traits in a
population of organisms. Humans have used artificial selection for
thousands of years in the domestication of plants and animals.
Theory of General Relativity

• Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity remains an important

and essential discovery because it permanently altered how we
look at the universe. Einstein's major breakthrough was to say that
space and time are not absolutes and that gravity is not simply a
force applied to an object or mass. Rather, the gravity associated
with any mass curves the very space and time (often called space-
time) around it.
 Theory of General Relativity

Applications
• It has an important practical application: the accuracy of Global
Positioning System (GPS) relies on corrections from GR.
•
The GPS satellites orbit about 20,000 km (12,000 miles) above the Earth
and experience gravity that is four times weaker than found on Earth’s
surface.
•
By using GPS to successfully navigate around unfamiliar roads, people
are inadvertently testing and retesting the accuracy of GR.
•