- thought experiment
- noun Date: 1945 gedankenexperiment
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
thought experiment
Look at other dictionaries:
thought-experiment — thought experiment … Philosophy dictionary
thought experiment — n. Philos. Physics a test in which one imagines the practical outcome of a hypothesis when physical proof may not be available … English World dictionary
Thought experiment — A thought experiment (from the German Gedankenexperiment ) is a proposal for an experiment that would test a hypothesis or theory but cannot actually be performed due to practical limitations; instead its purpose is to explore the potential… … Wikipedia
thought experiment — In a thought experiment, instead of bringing about a course of events, as in a normal experiment, we are invited to imagine one. We may then be able to ‘see’ that some result follows, or that some description is appropriate, or our inability to… … Philosophy dictionary
thought experiment — mintinis eksperimentas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. imaginary experiment; mental experiment; thought experiment vok. Gedankenexperiment, n; Gedankenversuch, m rus. абстрактный эксперимент, m; мысленный опыт, m pranc. expérience… … Fizikos terminų žodynas
thought experiment — /θɔt ɛkˈspɛrəmənt/ (say thawt ek speruhmuhnt) noun an experiment which is impossible to conduct in the real world in which a proposition is tested by thinking through a set of conditions that lead to a logical conclusion. Compare gedanken… …
thought experiment — Physics. a demonstration or calculation that is based on the postulates of a theory, as relativity, and that demonstrates or clarifies the consequences of the postulates. Also called Gedanken experiment. [1940 45] * * * … Universalium
thought experiment — noun Etymology: probably translation of German gedankenexperiment : an imaginary experiment worked through with ideal apparatus under ideal conditions but with no violation of the basic laws of physics : gedankenexperiment … Useful english dictionary
Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen thought experiment — Thought experiment introduced in 1935 by these three authors in their Physical Review paper ‘Can Quantum Mechanical Description of Physical Reality be Considered Complete?’ Suppose two quantum systems 1 and 2 that briefly interact, and are then… … Philosophy dictionary
thought experiment — noun an attempt to solve a problem using the power of human imagination … Wiktionary
