Theoretical physics

Theoretical physics is physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions rather than experimental processes. Theoretical physics attempts to understand the natural world by making a model of reality, used for rationalizing, explaining, and predicting physical phenomena in what are called "physical theories". There are three types of theories in physics: mainstream theories, proposed theories and fringe theories.

Related Topics:
Physics - Mathematical model - Abstraction - Experimental - Natural world - Model - Reality - Phenomena - Theories

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Some physical theories are backed by observation, whereas others are not. A physical theory is a model of physical events and cannot be proven from basic axioms. A physical theory is different from a mathematical theorem. Physical theories model reality and are a statement of what has been observed, and provide predictions of new observations.

Related Topics:
Observation - Axioms - Mathematical - Theorem

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Physical theories can become accepted if they are able to make correct predictions and avoid incorrect ones. All else being equal, physical theories which are simpler tend to be accepted over theories which are complex. Physical theories are also more likely to be accepted if they connect a wide range of phenomena. The process of testing a physical theory is part of the scientific method.

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Famous theoretical physicists include Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Niels Hendrik Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, Hendrik A. Lorentz, Max Planck, Erwin Schrödinger, Paul Dirac, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Richard Feynman, Lev Landau, Abdus Salam, Enrico Fermi, Louis Victor Broglie, and Wolfgang Pauli.

Related Topics:
Physicist - Isaac Newton - Albert Einstein - Stephen Hawking - Niels Hendrik Bohr - Werner Heisenberg - Max Born - Hendrik A. Lorentz - Max Planck - Erwin Schrödinger - Paul Dirac - J. Robert Oppenheimer - Richard Feynman - Lev Landau - Abdus Salam - Enrico Fermi - Louis Victor Broglie - Wolfgang Pauli

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Theoretical physics is just one important part of physics; the other parts are experimental physics and mathematical physics. The difference between theoretical physics and mathematical physics is that mathematical physics finds the mathematical rigor required in mathematics to be more important than the contact with experiments and observations.{{ref|diff}}

Related Topics:
Physics - Experimental physics - Mathematical physics - Mathematics

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