Talk:Theoretical physics

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Contents 1 Einstein 2 Theories on main page & this page 3 Poincaré 4 Boltzmann 5 Edit explanation 6 about Wilson-Sommerfeld's Quatumzation 7 Ideas for improvement 8 Freeman? 9 Catergorization of theories

[edit] Einstein

The Michelson-Morley experiment disproved the existence of an ether before SR. The first paragraph's ending might be implying otherwise, as it is being stretched to make a point. (better example?)

[edit] Theories on main page & this page

There are two theories on the physics page that are not on the theoretical physics page: Time Cube and Variable Speed of Light. I have not read much on physics so I dunno how accurate the lists are in general. But they seem to be inconsistent enough to warrant changing.

Brianjd 06:01, 2004 Jun 16 (UTC)

Time Cube is semantic gobbledegook, not a physical theory. Variable c, or c-decay warrants addition though. lysdexia 01:21, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Additionally, String theory is both in Mainstream theories and Proposed theories list - one of the copied should probably be removed? As the Problems section on String threory page says "In this sense, string theory is still in a "larval stage": it is properly a mathematical theory but is not yet a physical theory" - so Proposed theories is probably the best section for it?

[edit] Poincaré

Hi, I think it would be also important to name Henri Poincaré among the most famous theoretical physicists. Essentially known as a great mathematician, the fact still remains that Poincaré contributions to physics are among the most important (Lorentz transformations and the premices of the special relativity theory as one of many examples). I'm just adding his name to the list. Ok? Doublestein 09:01, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Boltzmann

I think that Ludwig Boltzmann must be on the list either. The founder of Kinetic theory must not be forgotten.

Karolis

Maxwell...

[edit] Edit explanation

I removed Creation science and Intelligent design from the fringe theory listing. They are not theories in the scientific sense; further, they are not relevant to theoretical physics, the topic of this article. — Knowledge Seeker দ 23:16, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

They're not theories in the "scientific sense", huh? What would be more "scientific": Darwinism [we come from monkeys] or the "big bang" [something came from nothing]? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.60.111.5 (talk • contribs).

No, they aren't. Yes, both evolution and the big bang theory are more scientific than creation science or intelligent design. Note that this does not necessarily make them more correct, but by invoking the supernatural both theories remain outside the scope of science. Also, to clarify: the big bang theory does not propose that the Universe arose out of nothingness; rather, it proposes that that all the matter and energy of the Universe was concentrated into an extremely hot and dense state which suddenly and rapidly expanded. What occurred before this (or if before has any meaning), how the Universe came to be in such a state, and why it began expansion are not known. — Knowledge Seeker দ 00:00, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

Actually, the story goes that God created something from nothing, and so based on your arguments, the big bang theory makes more sense than Creationism. The problem is people don't realize they are not opposing arguments; God could have created the universe by the big bang. Once Descartes removed reason from religion, people since have had this misconception of science is the oposite of religion. — dmyers4 March 28, 2006

[edit] about Wilson-Sommerfeld's Quatumzation

I've read Modern Physics about Wilson-Sommerfeld's Quatumzation Theory. I don't understand:

1.Why did they consider that ?

P seems like a periodic function...

2.By1.,I think that was just correct with some limit of

Uncertainty Principle if P represents(ed) "Poition". I said

right? Or it obeyed U.P.?

3.Why does ? Then we by this to solve A

(amplitude)? And however,by what theory? See please[1]

--HydrogenSu 15:49, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ideas for improvement

The article clearly needs more content; I was thinking of things such as:

• Explain how theoretical physics is done.

• It's interaction with experimental physics and how a lack of experimental results can lead to many theories (some fringe) being invented to describe some aspect of physics (e.g. Superstring theory).

• How theories evolve over time to take account of experimental discoveries (link to the last point).

Just a few suggestions. Cheers. MP (talk) 17:48, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Freeman?

I'm as big a fan of the Half-Life games as the next guy, but does Gordon Freeman really deserve a spot on the list of prominant theoretical physicists?

--210.228.17.103 03:51, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

I've had enough of this. How many times is this user going to add him? It's just stupid.

[edit] Catergorization of theories

The categorization of theories leads something to be desired. As a professional theoretical physicist, let me weigh in briefly. The three categories that are here are fine, but there really isn't much to distinguish between "proposed" and "fringe". A decision must be made regarding what is wanted with the fringe category. There are several somewhat overlapping ways to go:

1.) Theories that are essentially discredited or baseless. This would include crackpot theories that deny quantum mechanics or relativity, i.e. contract known facts. Also, could include pseudoscience such as astrology.

2.) Things that are not manifestly illogical or contradictory of fact, but are not very well favored in a sociological sense. By this, I mean, what theoretical physicists don't work on very much but will not come down and say is just wrong. An example might be time travel; there are mathematical indications from general relativity that this is possible but not many theoretical physicists would say this is a wothwhile direction of research. A less extreme example could be Loop Quantum Gravity; most physicists who study quantum gravity favor string theory.

I suggest that "fringe" is reserved for things that are viewed as essentially discredited or baseless by the entire academic and scientific communities. So one should remove Grand Unified Theories and Loop Quantum Gravity from "fringe" since there is a sizable amount of academic work done on these two. While we're at it, remove Theory of Everything as well. With this understanding of "fringe", it may now be acceptable to add astrology.

Also, although I am a string theorist, I think I have to object to the labeling of string theory as a "Mainstream Theory". While many theoretical physicists work on it, it has yet to be accepted by the broader physics community. This is rightly so; it has yet to be experimentally verified. I would simply delete it under that heading for it already appears under "Proposed Theories".

-Joshua

If there is going to be no further discussion on the matter, I'll urge Joshua to implement some of these things. To me as well the part about the classificaiton of theories read horribly. If we can't provide an allusion to the uniqueness of the current theoretical situation(an abundance of theory, not much experiment), I see no reason for the classification of theories in this article particularly