Andrea Griffini wrote:
> Wow... I always get surprises from physics. For example I
> thought that no one could drop confutability requirement
> for a theory in an experimental science...
Some physicists (often mathematical physicists) propose
alternate worlds because the math is interesting.
There is a problem in physics in that we know (I was
trained as a physicist hence the "we" :) quantum mechanics
and gravity don't agree with each other. String theory
is one attempt to reconcile the two. One problem is
the math of string theory is hard enough that it's hard
to make a good prediction. Another problem is the
realm where QM and GR disagree requires such high energies
that it's hard to test directly.
> I was told that
> in physics there are current theories for which there
> is no hypotetical experiment that could prove them wrong...
> (superstrings may be ? it was a name like that but I
> don't really remember).
If we had a machine that could reach Planck scale energies
then I'm pretty sure there are tests. But we don't, by
a long shot.
Andrew Dalke
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