The Difference Between Theories and Laws - General

So recently, one of my friends told me that Einstein was wrong because E=mc^2 isn't true since mass can't turn into the speed of light, and I went ballistic on him. So I thought I'd finally make a thread about the difference between theories and laws because I see the two terms being used incorrectly here. Theories and laws are two completely different things in science. Theories never become laws and laws never become theories, the two are completely different ideas and yet everyone wants to set up some hierarchical system where theories have no merit and laws are all that matter. Laws state what happens in the world, such as "lightning strikes during a thunderstorm". Theories state why they happen, such as "because of the opposite polarities of the cloud and the ground, lightning strikes". Theories are accepted as fact in the scientific community and theories never get "promoted" to being a law. I hear people say "Gravity is just a theory", like it actually means something. That means gravity is accepted as scientific fact by an overwhelming majority of the scientific community. In case no one knew, gravity is also a law. And perhaps the singe most infuriating misuse of theories is when people say, "I have a theory about..." when they have absolutely no proof. Theories are backed by repeatable experimental evidence. You can't just bullshit an idea about the existence of extra dimensions and call it a theory, no, that's a hypothesis. Hypotheses are explanations that may or may not explain or predict a set of phenomena without any experimental proof. Saying, "I theorize that there are extra dimensions we cannot see" (which I have actually seen on this site) would mean that you have done numerous experiments that all confirm the existence of said dimensions, and that you could redo those experiments at will. A better term for that would be, "I hypothesize the existence of extra dimensions".

k [highlight](User was banned for this post ("First-post snipe" - Dragon))[/highlight]

yep people that aren't dumb know this

Hahah, OP you have to be kidding. Your friend that is

Laws are Theories that have yet to be proven wrong, over a test of time. Hence why they become Theory before Law.

[QUOTE=matark;16322774]Theories never become laws [/QUOTE] ye they do

[QUOTE=stone555;16322799]Laws are Theories that have yet to be proven wrong, over a test of time. Hence why they become Theory before Law.[/QUOTE] This man knows what hes talking about.

[QUOTE=McSanchezV2;16322861]ye they do[/QUOTE] Facts become law.

OP before you go on a rant, you should make sure you know what you're talking about. Theories [B]can[/B] become laws...

[QUOTE=matark;16322774]So recently, one of my friends told me that Einstein was wrong because E=mc^2 isn't true since mass can't turn into the speed of light[/QUOTE] that doesn't make any sense

You're dumb OP. True story.

[QUOTE=thisispain;16323205]that doesn't make any sense[/QUOTE] I think that was the point.

[QUOTE=thisispain;16323205]that doesn't make any sense[/QUOTE] Wrong thing to say... You are supposed to ask WHY the OP went ballistic on his friend... and then make fun of the OP for giving a stupid reason. Also, "A theory, in the general sense of the word, is an analytic structure designed to explain a set of observations." from google definitions. So technically saying "I have a theory about this" isn't incorrect. In the field of science a theory is one thing, however in a general sense it means the definition above. Sense you like examples I will give one. If we play a game together and you run out to the enemy and die as soon as you spawn every time, I would say "I have a theory about why you keep dieing... it's because you keep rushing out of the base as soon as you spawn" It would be correct, because I observed you spawning, rushing out of the base, and dieing. It fits all the parameters of the above definition.

[QUOTE=matark;16322774]So recently, one of my friends told me that Einstein was wrong because E=mc^2 isn't true since mass can't turn into the speed of light, and I went ballistic on him. So I thought I'd finally make a thread about the difference between theories and laws because I see the two terms being used incorrectly here. Theories and laws are two completely different things in science. Theories never become laws and laws never become theories, the two are completely different ideas and yet everyone wants to set up some hierarchical system where theories have no merit and laws are all that matter. Laws state what happens in the world, such as "lightning strikes during a thunderstorm". Theories state why they happen, such as "because of the opposite polarities of the cloud and the ground, lightning strikes". Theories are accepted as fact in the scientific community and theories never get "promoted" to being a law. I hear people say "Gravity is just a theory", like it actually means something. That means gravity is accepted as scientific fact by an overwhelming majority of the scientific community. In case no one knew, gravity is also a law. And perhaps the singe most infuriating misuse of theories is when people say, "I have a theory about..." when they have absolutely no proof. Theories are backed by repeatable experimental evidence. You can't just bullshit an idea about the existence of extra dimensions and call it a theory, no, that's a hypothesis. Hypotheses are explanations that may or may not explain or predict a set of phenomena without any experimental proof. Saying, "I theorize that there are extra dimensions we cannot see" (which I have actually seen on this site) would mean that you have done numerous experiments that all confirm the existence of said dimensions, and that you could redo those experiments at will. A better term for that would be, "I hypothesize the existence of extra dimensions".[/QUOTE] Have your friend ask one of the Japanese survivors at ground-zero during WWII to tell him that Einstein was wrong.

[QUOTE=VladimirPutin;16323049]Facts become law.[/QUOTE]And theories are based on..... *Wait for it!* [b]FACTS!![/b]

[QUOTE=matark;16322774]So recently, one of my friends told me that Einstein was wrong because E=mc^2 isn't true since mass can't turn into the speed of light, and I went ballistic on him. [/QUOTE] Mass doesn't turn into the speed of light, they're on the same side of the equation. They're just multiplied together.