Is Einstein's Theory of Relativity correct? If so, why is it a Theory, not a Law?

Question

Is Einstein's Theory of Relativity correct? If so, why is it a Theory, not a Law?

Answer 1

It is still a theory because parts of it have not been proven. Like the fact that time will distort if we travel at the speed of light. No one has travelled at the speed of light to test the theory yet.

Answer 2

Theories are explanations of what will happen under certain conditions. It might or might not be tested.It's just an idea. But really really good ideas. It could be proven wrong by someone else later.



Laws are the theories that has been proved and tested by many peoples, many times. And not a single times it comes out wrong.



Proved and always correct theorie = Law



The reason it is Theory of relativity because we don't have the techonology to test it yet. It might be true, it might not. but so far it is the best idea.



Yes there are similar theories. For Example "Stephen Hawkins" theory.

Answer 3

Because Einstein was smart enough to know he didnt know everything

Answer 4

First of all, a scientific theory does propose "laws of physics". So yes, Einstein's Theory of Relativity is a Law (or some number of Laws). Assuming that you are talking about Special Relativity, then Einstein proposed in his theory that light travels at a constant speed for all observers in all reference frames. That is a law. And so far, no one has been able to find any exception to this law. Now just because no one has found an exception does NOT mean that someday someone won't. So that's why it is still called a "Theory". All scientific propositions are called theories.



Currently, there are already discussions within the scientific community that Einstein's Theory of Relativity may be wrong (in the sense that in some extremely cases the speed of light is not constant). That's not to say that it won't work most of the time. Just like Newton, who's "Three Laws of Motion" is still applicable today, Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity will be still correct for nearly all cases.

Answer 5

LoL remember son a Theory is not fact until proven. It has not been proved that it is real yet just speculation so far but working on it as fact and one day it will be lol.

Answer 6

It isn't that laws are not challenged.



A law simply describes what happens. Law of Conservation of Mass/Energy/Charge, Newton's Laws... they all describe what happens. They don't explain why.



The theory explains why. The Theory of Evolution explains why animals change over time. They explain why.



Atleast, this is what I tell my students.

Answer 7

Most laws are just really old theories that haven't changed much through time. We are cautious in calling anything in science a law and assuming it will always be true because if there is one constant we have observed, it is that our scientific understandings are constantly changing haha.

Answer 8

First just let me point out what a guttersnipe "KingOfTheInt" is, what a rube! Einstein's theories are most likely correct, but our fundamental understanding of the universe could someday change, become more clear or less. It seems as though the more we know the more questions there are, for the secrets of the universe are burried deep within it's very fabric, so tiny they are nearly impossible to see. For the last hundred years relativity has shined as an intellectual triumph, but it is not the complete picture of what is going on here.

Answer 9

good question. lets see what other people say about this

Answer 10

Theories come in two forms. A theory in the scientific sense doesn't have anything to do with whether or not it is supported by evidence, contradicted by the evidence,or even if the theory is well liked. It only has to do with the way the theory is structured and the way it functions. Just because a theory is a scientific theory does not mean that the scientific community currently accepts it. There are many theories that are scientific, but have been rejected by the scientific community because the evidence is strongly against it. Phenomenological theories are observational generalizations of data. These theories only describe the processes that nature keeps repeating but do not explain their causes or mechanisms. Phenomenological theories are also called scientific laws, physical laws, and natural laws. Newton’s third law is one example of a phenomenological theory. It states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Explanatory theories attempt to explain the observations rather than generalize them. Whereas laws are descriptions of observational regularities, explanatory theories are conceptual constructions to explain why the data exist. For example, the atomic theory explains why we see certain observations. The same could be said with DNA and relativity. Explanatory theories are particularly helpful in such cases where the entities (like atoms, DNA, and so forth) cannot be directly observed.



Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reported in Dec. 22, 2005 of the journal Nature that Albert Einstein's formula, E=mc2, was correct.



The researchers used an instrument developed by NIST (Gaithersburg, Md.) called GAMS4 (click link below for image) to again confirm that energy and matter are related: energy (E) equals mass (m) times the square of the speed of light (c2). Full article at http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=PK0GDDIIC0P4EQSNDBESKHA?articleID=175007386



Image at

http://i.cmpnet.com/eet/news/online/2005/12/image1_122005.jpg

Answer 11

The word "Theory" does not have exactly the same meaning in science as it does in conversation. Science progresses by folks proposing a theory that explains observable events, then the theory gets tweaked until it is proved beyond any doubt whatsoever (when it becomes a "Law"), or until a better theory is proposed by someone else. Since relativity involves some measurements we will never be able to make, it remains a "theory". This does not mean it isn't in fact, a "fact". The same can be said of evolution. It remains a theory because we cannot travel back in time to check that it is 100% infallible, but we do know that it it 99.999% certain, so it remains a theory...

Answer 12

Well, the very definition of a theory is something which hasn't or cannot be proven. And since science is based upon proof, and we have no true way of proving the theory, then a theory it will remain. A law is something that can be proven, such as the Newtons Law, in that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Or that a body in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an opposing force. Or Ohms law, which refers to electricity, states that E=I*R, or voltage equals impedance multiplied by resistance.

Answer 13

Because you call it "Einstein's Theory" so it's a theory.

Answer 14

E=mc2



Yes it is correct but not applicable in this world.

His theory could be applied in high energy physics and quantum physics that could be hardly applied in the real world.



It could not be applied in a law since it could not be followed nor used by humans.