What is the difference between a scientific law and a scientific theory?

Answer 1

the difference say between the theory of gravity and the law of gravity is at the time it was a theory there was no set understanding for the force of gravity. issac newton deduced from observation how gravity worked and set out the laws as how the observed evidence pointed to.

a theory becomes fact when there is enough evidence and observable examinations of observation to back up the theory until proven right. if the theory doesnt hold up, its either tweeked or discarded in favor of a new theory that reputiates the observation and experiaments

Answer 2

A law is typically something that is observable and repeatable. 'Law of Gravity' as an example - stuff falls, with an observable accelleration. Scientific theory is the explaination for the observables - Newton's theory is used to construct a basis for the observed facts - as we are able to measure with more and more precision, sometimes older theories no longer can be used to accurately describe the universe - as an example, Enstein's relativity theory was vindicated when a star's light was bent by the sun's gravity - something that was seen during an eclipse. Newton's theories didn't describe that behavior, although they work reasonably well for everyday use in describing physical behavior. Now Einstein's theories are running into 'precision' problems, so new theories such as string theory are applied in hopse of better describing our universe mathematically.

Answer 3

The most successful theories were often called laws a long time ago, but it's fallen out of favor since violations of the "laws" kept popping up in the 20'th century. The old theories retain that name out of tradition when speaking informally. All physical theories now days are recognized as just effective approximations for their given regime of validity.