Gavin Howe
The laws of physics are models that we use to predict the future behaviour of the universe and to describe its past behaviour. Some laws of physics have been broken over the centuries, and some are actively being broken right now. This is a good thing, because it means there's more to learn about the universe. For example, some laws can be violated by quantum particles. However, some argue that it makes no sense to speak of breaking the laws of physics, because if the laws of physics are broken, then our understanding of them is wrong.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Laws of physics are models | Predict future behaviour of the universe |
| Laws of physics are models | Describe past behaviour of the universe |
| Laws of physics are imperfect | |
| Laws of physics are confirmed by human observation | Billions of times |
| Laws of physics can be broken | Yes |
| Laws of physics can be broken by | Quantum particles |
| Laws of physics can be broken by | Humans |
| Laws of physics can be broken by | Miracles |
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What You'll Learn
- Quantum particles can violate the laws of physics
- The laws of physics are models we use to predict the future behaviour of the universe
- The laws of physics are not set in stone and can be broken
- The term 'law' in physics is loosely defined
- The laws of physics are based on our understanding of the universe
Quantum particles can violate the laws of physics
Quantum particles can violate the laws of classical physics. However, they are perfectly described by quantum physics. Physics doesn't have "laws" in the traditional sense, but rather overlapping mathematical models and frameworks. These are called "theories", and include quantum field theory, quantum mechanics, classical field theory, classical electrodynamics, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, fluid mechanics, and general relativity.
The "laws of physics" are models we use to predict the future behaviour of the universe and to describe its past behaviour. These models are imperfect and are based on the way we have observed the world to work. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to speak of "breaking" the laws of physics. On the scale of forces, temperatures, distances, etc. that humans can directly experience and observe, Newtonian mechanics and classical thermodynamics have been confirmed billions of times and no discrepancies have ever been observed.
However, some laws of physics have been broken over the centuries, and some are actively being broken right now. This is a good thing because it means there's more to learn about the universe. The term "law" in physics has a loose definition, even among physicists. Sometimes the term applies to properties of the natural world that we have consistently observed to be true for a very long time. Sometimes it's attached to fundamental ideas that form the bedrock of large, sprawling, complex theories of the cosmos. And sometimes it's just a throwback term that doesn't even apply anymore.
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The laws of physics are models we use to predict the future behaviour of the universe
For example, resurrecting someone would not break the laws of physics, but it would require there to be a law like "no human ever comes back from the dead". A more concrete example is the matter of the speed of light.
The word "law" in physics has a loose definition, even among physicists. Sometimes the term applies to properties of the natural world that we have consistently observed to be true for a very long time. Sometimes the word is attached to fundamental ideas that form the bedrock of large, sprawling, complex theories of the cosmos. And sometimes it’s just a throwback term that doesn’t even apply anymore.
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The laws of physics are not set in stone and can be broken
The laws of physics are models we use to predict the future behaviour of the universe and to describe its past behaviour. These models are imperfect, and we know it. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to speak of breaking the laws of physics. However, some laws can be violated by quantum particles.
On the scale of forces, temperatures, distances, etc. that humans can directly experience and observe, Newtonian mechanics and classical thermodynamics have been confirmed billions of times, and no discrepancies have ever been observed. Quantum mechanics "violates" no "laws".
Resurrection, for example, could be seen as breaking the laws of physics, but it would be more appropriate to say that a miracle has occurred, caused by a non-physical force.
The word "law" in physics has a loose definition, even among physicists. Sometimes, the term applies to properties of the natural world that we have consistently observed to be true for a very long time. Other times, it refers to fundamental ideas that form the basis of large, complex theories of the cosmos.
If the laws of physics are broken, it means our understanding of them is wrong. The universe will stop us from breaking them, so it is impossible to do so.
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The term 'law' in physics is loosely defined
The laws of physics are models that we use to predict the future behaviour of the universe and to describe its past behaviour. These models are imperfect, and some laws can be violated by quantum particles. However, it is important to note that if a law of physics is broken, it is no longer considered a law of physics, and our understanding of the laws of physics is proven to be incorrect.
Some examples of things that could potentially break the laws of physics include:
- Resurrecting someone from the dead
- Travelling faster than the speed of light
However, it is worth noting that the laws of physics have not been broken on a macroscopic scale. While some laws can be violated by quantum particles, no discrepancies have been observed in Newtonian mechanics and classical thermodynamics, which have been confirmed billions of times.
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The laws of physics are based on our understanding of the universe
The word "law" when it comes to physics has a loose definition, even among physicists. Sometimes the term applies to properties of the natural world that we have consistently observed to be true for a very long time. Sometimes the word is attached to fundamental ideas that form the bedrock of large, sprawling, complex theories of the cosmos. And sometimes it's just a throwback term that doesn't even apply anymore.
For example, resurrecting someone might be seen as breaking the laws of physics, but it would require there to be some law like "no human ever comes back from the dead". It would be more appropriate to say something like "a miracle is such as when a physical Y is caused by a non-physical X".
On the other hand, on the scale of forces, temperatures, distances, etc. that humans can directly experience and observe, Newtonian mechanics and classical thermodynamics have been confirmed billions of times and no discrepancies have ever been observed. Quantum mechanics "violates" no "laws", but some laws can be violated by quantum particles.
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Frequently asked questions
The laws of physics are models that we use to predict the future behaviour of the universe and to describe its past behaviour. These models are imperfect, and some laws can be violated by quantum particles.
Quantum particles can violate some laws of physics.
It is unclear whether the laws of physics can be broken on a macroscopic scale.
