Scientific law

A concise statement describing a consistent relationship or pattern observed in nature, often expressed mathematically and supported by repeated evidence.

Scientific theory: A well-supported explanatory framework that organizes evidence and accounts for natural phenomena. Unlike a law’s concise pattern statement, a theory explains how or why phenomena occur.
Mathematical physics: The use of mathematical structures and methods to formulate and analyze physical theories. Physical laws often gain precision by expressing relationships in mathematical form.
Causal explanation: An account of how or why one event or condition produces another. A law can describe a regular association without specifying its causal basis.
Newton's law of universal gravitation: Newton’s law stating that every pair of masses attracts with force proportional to their product and inversely proportional to distance squared. It exemplifies a compact mathematical rule that predicts a broad range of gravitational motions.
Universal gravitation: Newton’s theory that every mass attracts every other mass through gravity. The law of universal gravitation unified terrestrial and celestial motions in one framework.
Scientific model: A simplified representation of a system used to describe, explain, or predict its behavior. Models often express the conditions and limits under which a law applies.
Differential equation: An equation relating a function to one or more of its derivatives. Many laws specify how physical quantities change continuously over time or space.
Scientific hypothesis: A testable proposed explanation or claim about a phenomenon. A hypothesis is a proposed claim to assess, not simply another name for a law.
Kepler's laws of planetary motion: Three laws describing the elliptical orbits, swept areas, and orbital periods of planets. These empirical regularities preceded Newton’s unified account of planetary motion.
General relativity: Einstein’s theory of gravity, in which matter and energy curve spacetime. It accounts for gravitational phenomena beyond Newton’s law’s accurate domain.

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