You searched for: “theory
theory
1. Originally, a mental viewing; contemplation.
2. A speculative idea or plan as to how something might be done.
3. A formulation of apparent relationships or underlying principles of certain observed phenomena which have been verified to some degree.
4. That branch of an art or science consisting in a knowledge of its principles and methods rather than in its practice; pure, as oppoed to applied, science, etc.
5. Theory implies considerable evidence in support of a formulated general principle explaining the operation of certain phenomena; as in the theory of evolution.
6. A belief that guides action or assists comprehension or judgment in some action.
7. An assumption based on limited information or knowledge; a conjecture.
This entry is located in the following unit: theor- (page 1)
(cytology is the study of cells and the cell theory states that all living things are composed of cells and that all cells arise only from other cells)
(Latin: Probably from mitulus "mussel", of unknown origin [the change from m to n has not been explained]. It is also said to possibly come from Latin nidificare or nidulari, "to nest"; from nidus "nest", but there is no confirmation for either theory)
(Greek > Latin: to do, to exercise, doing; action, activity, practice; the opposite of theory; from the stem of prassein, "to do, to act")
Word Entries containing the term: “theory
abiogenic theory (s) (noun), abiogenic theories (pl)
The theory that hydrocarbon deposits have a primarily non-biological origin.

According to this concept, such materials became trapped far below the earth's crust when the basic structure of the planet evolved, and have subsequently migrated into reservoirs and to the surface through openings in in the earth's crust.

Contrasted with the more generally accepted biogenic theory that hydrocarbon deposits derive from the remains of living organisms.

archaeological theory, archeological theory (s) (noun); archaeological theories; archeological theories (pl)
Any theoretical concept used to assess the framework and meaning of the remains of past human activity; An archaeological theory refers to the reconstruction and interpretation of the past by looking beyond the facts and artifacts for explanations of prehistoric events.

bifurcation theory (s) (noun), bifurcation theories (pl)
A division of reality into two parts: The bifurcation theory consists of the world as it exists in the mind and the external world as it really exists.
This entry is located in the following unit: furcat-, furca- (page 1)
biogenic theory
The theory that fossil fuels represent the altered remains of ancient plant and animal life deposited in sedimentary rocks, and therefore have a biological origin.

Generally accepted in preference to the abiogenic theory that hydrocarbon deposits became part of the earth as it formed.

combinatorial theory
The branch of mathematics which studies the arrangements of elements into sets.
crisis theory for crisis therapy
A framework which is developed for defining and explaining the circumstances that take place when people are confronted with problems which appear to be impossible to solve.
This entry is located in the following unit: cris-, crit-, cri- (page 1)
electrical circuit theory, electric circuit theory, circuit theory
The mathematical analysis of conditions and relationships in an electric circuit.
This entry is located in the following unit: electro-, electr-, electri- (page 16)
electromagnetic theory
The theory of propagation of energy by the combined electric and magnetic fields included in Maxwell's equations.

See electromagnetic theory of light or take a look at production and interrelation of electric and magnetic fields, Maxwell's equations for explanations of what the term, Maxwell's equations, is all about.

This entry is located in the following unit: electro-, electr-, electri- (page 42)
electromagnetic theory of light
1. The theory which states that electromagnetic and light waves have identical properties.
2. The theory that light consists of electromagnetic radiation and therefore obeys Maxwell's equations; contrasted with earlier concepts that light was a stream of tiny particles or light was a wave in a medium of ether.

Maxwell's equations consists of the four fundamental equations that describe the behavior of electric and magnetic fields in time and space and the dependence of these fields on the distribution and behavior of electric charges and currents.

These four partial differential equations relate to the electric and magnetic fields to their sources, charge density, and current density.

This entry is located in the following unit: electro-, electr-, electri- (page 42)
geocentric theory (s) (noun) (no pl)
In history, the ancient belief that the sun and other bodies of the solar system revolve around the Earth: The geocentric theory was stated in detail by Ptolemy about 140 A.D. and later replaced by the heliocentric theory of Copernicus.
This entry is located in the following units: centro-, centr-, centri-, kentro- (page 7) geo-, ge- + (page 5)
heliocentric theory (s) (noun), heliocentric theories (pl)
The principle that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun: following the work of Copernicus in the 16th century.

This replaced the earlier geocentric (earth-centered) system described by Ptolemy (c. A.D. 100-170).

Ptolemy was a Greek philosopher who presented a widely accepted model of the solar system known as the "Ptolemaic system". He also made important contributions to geography and cartography.

The "Ptolemaic system" was a theory developed by Ptolemy, about A.D. 150, maintaining a motionless earth is the center of the universe with sun, moon, and planets revolving, around it; while the fixed stars are attached to an outer sphere concentric with the earth. This model was generally accepted in the West until the establishment of the "Copernican theory" about 1500 years later.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), is the Latinized version of the name Mikolaj Kopernik, the Polish astronomer who established the heliocentric model of the solar system; that is, the principle that the sun (not the earth) is the central point to which the motions of the planets are to be referred.

Copernicus was recognized as the first person in history to create a complete general arrangement of the solar system (Copernican system); combining mathematics, physics, and cosmology.

This entry is located in the following units: centro-, centr-, centri-, kentro- (page 7) helio-, heli- (page 1)
mechanical theory of heat
The principle of heat which consists of motions of the particles that make up a substance.
This entry is located in the following unit: mechano-, mechan-; mechanico-; machin- (page 4)
miasma theory of disease, miasmatic theory of disease (s) (nouns); miasma theories of diseases, miasmatic theories of diseases (pl)
An explanation of the origin of epidemics, based on the false notion that they were caused by air of bad quality; that is, emanating from rotting vegetation in marshes or swamps.

The miasmatic theory of disease apparently started in the Middle Ages and continued on into the mid 1800's, when it was used to explain the spread of cholera in London and in Paris, partly explaining Haussmann's latter renovation of the French capital.

Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann (March 27, 1809–January 11, 1891) was a French civic planner whose name is associated with the rebuilding of Paris. He was born in that city of a Protestant family from Alsace. The Haussmann Renovations, or Haussmannization of Paris was a work led under the initiative of Napoléon III and the Seine préfet, Haussmann, from 1852 to 1870.

The project encompassed all aspects of urban planning, both in the center of Paris and in the outside districts: streets and boulevards, regulations imposed on façades of buildings, public parks, sewers and water works, city facilities and public monuments.

The disease was said to be preventable by cleansing and scouring of the body and items. Dr. William Farr, the assistant commissioner for the 1851 London census, was an important supporter of the miasma theory. He believed that cholera was transmitted by air, and that there was a deadly concentration of "miasmata" near the Thames River banks.

Another proponent of the "miasmatic" theory was the renowned Crimean War nurse, Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was known for her work in making hospitals sanitary and fresh-smelling.

—Compiled from information located in Wikepedia.
This entry is located in the following unit: miasm-, miasma-, miasmat- (page 1)
stochastic control theory
A branch of control theory that attempts to predict and to minimize the magnitudes and limits of random deviations in a control system by optimizing the design of the controller.
This entry is located in the following unit: stochast- + (page 1)
theory of music, musical theory
In music, a discipline involving the construction of cognitive systems to be used as a tool for comprehending musical compositions.

The discipline is subdivided into what can be called speculative and analytic theory.

Speculative theory engages in reconciling with music certain philosophical observations of man and nature.

It can be prescriptive when it imposes these extramusical contentions to establish an aesthetic norm.

In more general usage, the term musical theory is used to include the study of acoustics, harmony, and ear training.

This entry is located in the following unit: musico-, music- + (page 3)
unified field theory
1. Any theory that combines two or more field theories; such as, Maxwell's unification of the field theories of electricity and magnetism by developing the theory of electromagnetism.
2. Specifically, the effort by Einstein and others to unify gravitational force and electromagnetic force with a single set of laws and, more generally, to provide a geometrical interpretation for all physical interactions.
This entry is located in the following unit: uni-, un- (page 4)
Word Entries at Get Words containing the term: “theory
3. Scientific method, developoment of theory to predict new phenomena
The development of a theory that is used to predict new phenomena where the theory is a general statement that explains the facts.

A theory can lead to a new conclusion or the discovery of a phenomenon. Developments of a theory often result in a change in paradigm; that is, looking at or thinking about a scientific problem in a totally different way as indicated by a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitute a way of viewing reality for the scientific community that shares them.

—Based on information compiled from "Why Is Measurement Important to Science?"
by Patricia Barnes-Svarney, Editorial Director; The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference;
A Stoneson Press Book, Macmillan Publishers; New York; 1995; page 2.
This entry is located in the following unit: Measurements and Mathematics Terms (page 1)
adaptive theory of sleeping
A theory that the sleep pattern of human beings developed after the species began living in caves, which offered protection from encounters with powerful night time predators.
This entry is located in the following unit: Dream Terms (page 1)
Big Bang Theory
1. A theory of the origin of the universe in which all matter and space originated in a cataclysmic explosion, the remnant of which we see in the present expansion of the universe as a whole.
2. The hypothetical "massive explosive" event that is said to have marked the origin of the universe as we know it, about 18 billion years ago.

According to the theory, at the time of the Big Bang, the entire universe was squeezed into a hot, superdense state and the explosion threw the compact material outward, producing the expanding universe.

This entry is located in the following unit: Astronomy and related astronomical terms (page 4)
central place theory
The interpretation of city systems set forth by German geographer Walter Christaller in 1933 which centers on consumer demand, including the maximum distance consumers will travel for a given product and the minimum market size necessary to sustain them.
This entry is located in the following unit: Geography Terms + (page 3)
geocentric theory
Any theory of the solar system or the universe that places the earth at the center.
This entry is located in the following unit: Astronomy and related astronomical terms (page 12)
heliocentric theory
A theory for the motion of the planets that has the sun at its correct place in the center of the solar system.
This entry is located in the following unit: Astronomy and related astronomical terms (page 13)
number theory
The study of the properties of numbers, and the relationships between them.
steady-state theory
1. A theory of the evolution of the universe that states that the universe has always been in the state it is now, which leads to the implication that the universe has no origin, but has always existed.
2. A rival theory to that of the Big Bang which claims that the universe has no origin but is expanding because new matter is being created continuously throughout the universe.

The theory was proposed in 1948 by Austrian-born British cosmologist Hermann Bondi, Austrian-born U.S. astronomer and physicist Thomas Gold, and English astronomer Fred Hoyle, but this concept was challenged in 1965 by the discovery of cosmic background radiation and is now largely rejected by scientists.

This entry is located in the following unit: Astronomy and related astronomical terms (page 25)