In its place, he introduced a theory which stated that all objects in the universe, instead of being still, were in fact in constant motion. In the 1600s, Newton thoroughly disproved this long-held belief. This means that if no force was acting on it, then the object would remain completely still.

This means theories can never be proven correct, and this makes science a constantly evolving process.īefore Isaac Newton, people thought an object’s natural state was at absolute rest. So in effect, a single future observation can always invalidate a theory, no matter how reliable it seems at the moment. Galileo disproved this theory when he noticed moons orbit Jupiter he could therefore show that actually not everything orbit the Earth. Second, theories are always disprovable, meaning they’re open to reform if new evidence that doesn’t fit the theory is found.įor example, people once believed in the theory that everything in the universe revolved around the Earth. If you want to know, say, where Mars will be six months from now, it’s possible to predict this precisely using the theory of gravity. Using the data he collected he was able to describe gravity in a theory.įirst, they allow scientists to make definite predictions about future events.įor example, Newton’s theory of gravity allowed scientists to predict the future movements of objects like planets.

Scientists collect data from observations they see in, for example, experiments, and use it to develop explanations of how and why phenomena happen.įor example, Isaac Newton developed the theory of gravity after observing many phenomena, from apples falling from trees to the movements of planets. You’ve probably heard of the theory of gravity or the theory of relativity? But have you ever paused to think what we really mean when we talk about theories?Ī theory, in its most basic terms, is a model that accurately explains large groups of observations.

A brief history of time book review