Understanding Incompatible Scientific Theories for Scientists

[Schfra]

how should incompatibile scientific theories be thought of? Newtonian mechanics and special relativity contradict each other for example, so it doesn’t make sense to just consider all scientific theories to be part of one big coherent picture.

How do scientists think about scientific theories, particularly as it relates to different theories being incompatible and useful in different situations.

 

[ZapperZ]

how should incompatibile scientific theories be thought of? Newtonian mechanics and special relativity contradict each other for example, so it doesn’t make sense to just consider all scientific theories to be part of one big coherent picture.

How do scientists think about scientific theories, particularly as it relates to different theories being incompatible and useful in different situations.

Where did you get the idea that Newtonian mechanics contradicts SR? Einstein came up with special relativity due to classical electromagnetism, not Newtonian mechanics, not being covariant under Galilean transformation. And note that SR has to match Newtonian mechanics and non-relativistic E&M at some level, because we know they work within some limits.

Incompatible theories only mean that the phenomenon that they are trying to describe is still not well-known yet, and it is still an active research in progress. We end up with a consistent formulation on things that are well-known and established.

Zz.

 

[Phantoful]

I don't really believe there are incompatible theories, just different theories with different uncertainties and accuracy. In fact, almost all of Physics is (very close) approximation.

 

[Schfra]

Where did you get the idea that Newtonian mechanics contradicts SR? Einstein came up with special relativity due to classical electromagnetism, not Newtonian mechanics, not being covariant under Galilean transformation. And note that SR has to match Newtonian mechanics and non-relativistic E&M at some level, because we know they work within some limits.

Incompatible theories only mean that the phenomenon that they are trying to describe is still not well-known yet, and it is still an active research in progress. We end up with a consistent formulation on things that are well-known and established.

Zz.

Regardless of why Einstein came up with special relativity, adding velocities is performed differently in Newtonian mechanics than in special relativity as I believe you’ve mentioned. Calculations done at near light speed velocities with Newtonian mechanics give very different numbers than SR. That’s just what I mean by contradictory. I understand that Newtonian mechanics and SR agree in most situations.

 

[ZapperZ]

Regardless of why Einstein came up with special relativity, adding velocities is performed differently in Newtonian mechanics than in special relativity as I believe you’ve mentioned. Calculations done at near light speed velocities with Newtonian mechanics give very different numbers than SR. That’s just what I mean by contradictory. I understand that Newtonian mechanics and SR agree in most situations.

But that is not the definition of contradictory, because we now know that the classical description is only a special case of a more general description. There is nothing contradictoy here.

Zz.

 

[Dale]

Newtonian mechanics and special relativity contradict each other for example

Newtonian mechanics is part of special relativity. A part can’t contradict the whole.

Calculations done at near light speed velocities with Newtonian mechanics give very different numbers than SR

Clearly. Newtonian mechanics is the v<<c part of SR, not the near light speed part.