thought experiment

American  

noun

1. Physics. a demonstration or calculation that is based on the postulates of a theory, as relativity, and that demonstrates or clarifies the consequences of the postulates.

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Etymology

Origin of thought experiment

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thought experiment

To start things off, let’s entertain a thought experiment.

From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026

But it was an interesting kind of thought experiment, it was an interesting, as I said, kind of vessel to place all of the themes into.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

In the 1940s, University of Chicago economist Frank H. Knight devised a thought experiment called the Crusonia plant: a miraculous organism that, once planted, yields fruit year after year without any effort.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

According to new research, the famous work could also represent an early thought experiment in impact physics, describing a catastrophic planetary collision centuries before modern meteor science existed.

From Science Daily ● May 11, 2026

Thus what Koyré took to be the key concept that made possible the new science, the concept of inertia, was, he held, constructed by Galileo thinking about everyday experience, by a mere thought experiment.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton