Can you comment on theory, experimentation, and computer simulation as three complementary approaches to studying physics?
Physics is an empirical science–it’s based on reality. Our job as physicists is to describe nature. So experiment is always the final arbiter. We devise theories and run simulations to make sense out of what we observe. Even though there are these three ways of studying physics, experimentation is the most important, and I say that as someone who is a theoretical physicist. What we actually observe takes priority over what we see with a computer simulation or what a theory may suggest. A successful theory has to fit the experimental results and predict other results. That understood, there are ways that simulations can be particularly helpful. Suppose I take a beaker of supercooled liquid, or of a supersaturated solution of sugar in water. If I tap the edge of the beaker, I create a little disturbance in the liquid so that the density of the liquid is a bit higher in some regions. That will start a process called nucleation: in some region of the liquid, a little solid nucleus can app
Physics is an empirical science–it’s based on reality. Our job as physicists is to describe nature. So experiment is always the final arbiter. We devise theories and run simulations to make sense out of what we observe. Even though there are these three ways of studying physics, experimentation is the most important, and I say that as someone who is a theoretical physicist. What we actually observe takes priority over what we see with a computer simulation or what a theory may suggest. A successful theory has to fit the experimental results and predict other results. That understood, there are ways that simulations can be particularly helpful. Suppose I take a beaker of supercooled liquid, or of a supersaturated solution of sugar in water. If I tap the edge of the beaker, I create a little disturbance in the liquid so that the density of the liquid is a bit higher in some regions. That will start a process called nucleation: in some region of the liquid, a little solid nucleus can app
Can you comment on theory, experimentation, and computer simulation as three complementary approaches to studying physics?