When theory and experiment disagree, it could mean new physics. This time, they solved the muon g-2 puzzle, and saved the Standard Model.
When it comes to investigating the Universe, the ultimate goal is to uncover the closest approximation of the scientific truth about reality as possible. This takes the combination of two approaches, simultaneously.
- Over on the theory side, we have our best models, laws, and framework to represent reality and the rules that it obeys. We use what has already been established to make predictions about what we expect to see, experimentally and/or observationally, when we put the Universe itself to the test.
- Meanwhile, on the experiment side, we look at what theory predicts and attempt to test it to greater precision than ever before.
If it confirms what theory predicts, that’s an improvement in our understanding of the Universe: not a revolutionary change, but incrementally increasing what is known. If it disagrees with theoretical predictions, it’s an opportunity for advancement: either there’s a flaw with the theory or the experiment, or if not, there’s a chance that there’s more to reality than we presently understand. Or, if there are multiple different…
