For example, I’ve seen that an electron is assumed to be a point-particle, i.e, occupies negligible space.
But it obviously has mass, so it’s gotta occupy *some* space!
However, the math seems to add up (pun intended), and the behaviour of the electron can be explained.
How?
(This was inspired by the *assume a spherical cow* thing)
In: Physics
In many cases the math doesn’t actually check out but we don’t have refined enough instruments to measure the difference until much later. When we do experiments we can usually tell with what precision we’re going to be getting from our results and that’s often enough to be reasonably sure that the theory is accounting for enough complexity to be accurate. For a long time it’ll be close enough for doing practical engineering. When we do refine instruments enough to make measurements that prove our mathematical understanding is actually wrong, that leads to new theories and new math and our understanding of the nature of the universe deepens.
Theories are not absolute nor do they need to be. They can be close enough that we can still do astounding things like split the atom, land on the moon, and peer into a working brain by placing a person inside an MRI.
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