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Question
“Every great physical theory starts as a heresy and ends as a dogma”. Give some examples from the history of science of the validity of this incisive remark
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Solution 1
The statement above is true. Validity of this incisive remark can be validated from the example of moment of inertia. It states that the moment of inertia of a body depends on its energy. But according to Einstein's mass-energy relation (E = mc2), energy depends on the speed of the body.
Solution 2
A common observation in our daily life is that light travels in straight line. When Huygens propounded his wave theory, it was against the accepted belief. However, soon it became a dogma as reflection, refraction etc., could be successfully explained on the basis of wave theory. When photoelectric effect was discovered then it was found that wave theory of light cannot explain the phenomena and we came to a conclusion that light truely has dual characteristic. It may behave both as wave and a particle.We may consider other similar examples from the history of science.
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