Gedanken experiment

American

[guh-dahng-kuhn] / gəˈdɑŋ kən /

noun

Physics.

thought experiment.

Etymology

Origin of Gedanken experiment

< German, plural of Gedanke thought

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The cover is a representation of Schrodinger’s cat, which in a gedanken experiment quantum mechanics suggests is in a superposition of being alive and dead until it is observed.

From Scientific American

In physics, the term `gedanken experiment' is used to refer to an experiment that is impractical to carry out, but useful to consider because you can reason about it theoretically.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023