Scientific theory that was superseeded by another theory?

Question

Can you give me a good example of a scientific theory that was once believed to be true but was later shown to be in error by another deeper theory. One example is the theory of relativity overturning Newton's laws of motion. Can you give me another example?

Answer 1

the atomic theory(the theory of the atom) has been through significant changes as well. it started with democritis a long long time ago, and has been changing ever since

Answer 2

One example is Newton's laws?

Well thats overly simplistic and to a large extent - wrong. Consider the NASA use Newton's laws to plan the trajectories of rockets not Einstein's General relativity which is ever so slightly more realistic.

Keep in mind that a scientific theory (not just a hypothesis) must always agree with experimental results. If its disproved just once its not a theory anymore.

A modern example is General relativity and quantum mechanics are both incredibly accurate but they don't work well together. One or both need to be overhauled. This is the drive to find a Unified theory in physics.

Answer 3

Ptolemy's believed that the earth was the center of the Universe and that the moon and the sun rotated around the earth. Then came Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo Galilei

People tended to take Genesis, not only literary ( which may be correct) but also literally until Darwin came with the natural selection concept.

It was beleived that light was a "fluid" in a wave form motion until Quantum mechanics came and defined light as a particle ( quantum) of discreet energy packets and Einstein then won the Nobel prize for the photoelectric effect ( He did not get anything for relativity)

Finally, it was believed that the universe was as it is since infinite times until Hubble found out that it was exanding and George Gamow figured it out that if there was a big bang there had to be a background radiation, which was found by a couple of engineers .

Answer 4

The theory of the luminiferous ether -- it was originally belived that there was a substance which made up what we today think of as "space", a substance through which light travelled like a wave. It has since been replaced with electromagnetic theory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether

Also the "electron fluid" theory of electricity, which originally held that electricity was a fluid which literaly flowed through things, and could be captured and "condensed" into holding jars -- thus the "Leyden Jar" and the old word for a capacitor which was a "condenser" (a term still used in automotive electronics for some unknown reason). This theory was replaced by charge theory once the structure of the atom became better understood and scientists realised that electricity was just a charge caused by displacement of electrons from one atom to another.
http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/Chem-History/Aepinus-Atomized.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyden_Jar

Here is a neat little page that discusses the timeline of the development and eventual discarding of both theories:
http://maxwell.byu.edu/~spencerr/phys442/node4.html

Answer 5

Newton's laws of motion were not overturned; they were refined. Newton's laws worked fine for things that were larger than a molecule and going slower than the speed of light, and we use them every day. It wasn't wrong, it just needed refinement. For instance, thousands of years ago, they thought the Earth was flat. And then they showed that it was round. And then we realized that it was actually an oblate spheriod. But going from flat to round was in essance correct - it just needed a little further refinement.

Answer 6

Single string theory to multiple string and finally to M theory and
11 dimension concept not 5

Answer 7

All scientific theories are potentially incorrect or they wouldnt be theories...