scientific theory

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Noun

1.

scientific theory - a theory that explains scientific observations; "scientific theories must be falsifiable" big bang theory, big-bang theory - (cosmology) the theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature nebular hypothesis - (cosmology) the theory that the solar system evolved from a hot gaseous nebula planetesimal hypothesis - (cosmology) the theory that the solar system was formed by the gravitational accumulation of planetesimals continuous creation theory, steady state theory - (cosmology) the theory that the universe maintains a constant average density with matter created to fill the void left by galaxies that are receding from each other; "the steady state theory has been abandoned in favor of the big bang theory" theory - a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory" gravitational theory, Newton's theory of gravitation, theory of gravitation, theory of gravity - (physics) the theory that any two particles of matter attract one another with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them organicism - theory that the total organization of an organism rather than the functioning of individual organs is the determinant of life processes science, scientific discipline - a particular branch of scientific knowledge; "the science of genetics" atomic theory - a theory of the structure of the atom cell doctrine, cell theory - (biology) the theory that cells form the fundamental structural and functional units of all living organisms; proposed in 1838 by Matthias Schleiden and by Theodor Schwann undulatory theory, wave theory, wave theory of light - (physics) the theory that light is transmitted as waves corpuscular theory, corpuscular theory of light - (physics) the theory that light is transmitted as a stream of particles kinetic theory, kinetic theory of gases - (physics) a theory that gases consist of small particles in random motion Einstein's theory of relativity, relativity, relativity theory, theory of relativity - (physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts supersymmetry - (physics) a theory that tries to link the four fundamental forces; "according to supersymmetry each force emerged separately during the big bang" quantum theory - (physics) a physical theory that certain properties occur only in discrete amounts (quanta) indeterminacy principle, uncertainty principle - (quantum theory) the theory that it is impossible to measure both energy and time (or position and momentum) completely accurately at the same time germ theory - (medicine) the theory that all contagious diseases are caused by microorganisms information theory - (computer science) a statistical theory dealing with the limits and efficiency of information processing Arrhenius theory of dissociation, theory of dissociation, theory of electrolytic dissociation - (chemistry) theory that describes aqueous solutions in terms of acids (which dissociate to give hydrogen ions) and bases (which dissociate to give hydroxyl ions); the product of an acid and a base is a salt and water evolutionism, theory of evolution, theory of organic evolution - (biology) a scientific theory of the origin of species of plants and animals Ostwald's theory of indicators, theory of indicators - (chemistry) the theory that all indicators are either weak acids or weak bases in which the color of the ionized form is different from the color before dissociation theory of inheritance - (biology) a theory of how characteristics of one generation are derived from earlier generations association theory, associationism - (psychology) a theory that association is the basic principle of mental activity atomism - (psychology) a theory that reduces all mental phenomena to simple elements (sensations and feelings) that form complex ideas by association functionalism - a psychology based on the assumption that all mental process are useful to an organism in adapting to the environment configurationism, Gestalt psychology - (psychology) a theory of psychology that emphasizes the importance of configurational properties