Superseded theories in science

In science, a theory is superseded or becomes obsolete when a scientific consensus

once widely accepted it, but current science considers it an inadequate, incomplete,
or simply false description of reality. Such labels do not cover protoscientific or
fringe science theories that have never had broad support within the scientific
community. Furthermore, superseded or obsolete theories exclude theories that were
never widely accepted by the scientific community. Some theories that were only
supported under specific political authorities, such as Lysenkoism, may also be
described as obsolete or superseded.

All of Newtonian physics is so satisfactory for most purposes that it is more widely
used except at velocities that are a significant fraction of the speed of light, and The obsolete geocentric model
places Earth at the centre of the
simpler Newtonian but not relativistic mechanics is usually taught in schools.
Universe.
Another case is the belief that the Earth is approximately flat. For centuries, people
have known that a flat Earth model produces errors in long-distance calculations, but
considering local-scale areas as flat for the purposes ofmapping and surveying does not introduce significant errors.

In some cases, a theory or idea is found baseless and is simply discarded. For example, the phlogiston theory was entirely replaced by
the quite different concept of energy and related laws. In other cases an existing theory is replaced by a new theory that retains
significant elements of the earlier theory; in these cases, the older theory is often still useful for many purposes, and may be more
easily understood than the complete theory and lead to simpler calculations. An example of this is the use of Newtonian physics,
which differs from the currently accepted relativistic physics by a factor that is negligibly small at velocities much lower than that of
light.

Contents
Superseded theories
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Astronomy and cosmology
Geography and climate
Geology
Psychology
Medicine
Obsolete branches of enquiry
Theories now considered incomplete
See also
Lists
References
External links

Superseded theories
Scientific theories aretestable and make falsifiable predictions.[1] Thus, it is a mark of good science if a discipline has a growing list
of superseded theories, and conversely, a lack of superseded theories can indicate problems in following the use of the scientific
method.

Biology
Spontaneous generation– a principle regarding the spontaneous generation of complex life from inanimate matter ,
which held that this process was a commonplace and everyday occurrence, as distinguished from univocal
generation, or reproduction from parent(s). Falsified by anexperiment by Louis Pasteur: where apparently
spontaneous generation of microorganisms occurred, it did not happen on repeating the process without access to
unfiltered air; on then opening the apparatus to the atmosphere, bacterial growth started.
Transmutation of species, Lamarckism, inheritance of acquired characteristics– first theories of evolution. Not
supported by experiment, and rendered obsolete byDarwinian evolution and Mendelian genetics, though some
elements of Lamarckian evolution are coming back in the area ofepigenetics.
Vitalism – the theory that living things are alive because of some "vital force" independent of matter , as opposed to
because of some appropriate assembly of matter . It was gradually discredited by the rise oforganic chemistry,
biochemistry, and molecular biology, fields that failed to discover any "vital force".Friedrich Wöhler's synthesis of
urea from ammonium cyanate was only one step in a long road, not a great refutation.

Maternal impression – the theory that the mother's thoughts createdbirth defects. No experimental support (a notion
rather than a theory), and rendered obsolete bygenetic theory (see also fetal origins of adult disease, genomic
imprinting)
Preformationism – the theory that all organisms have existed since the beginning of life, and that gametes contain a
miniature but complete preformed individual, in the case of humans, ahomunculus. No support when microscopy
became available. Rendered obsolete bycytology, discovery of DNA, and atomic theory.
Recapitulation theory – the theory that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny". SeeBaer's laws of embryology.
Telegony – the theory that an offspring can inherit characteristics from a previous mate of its mother's as well as its
actual parents, often associated withracism.
Out of Asia theory of human origin – The majority view is of arecent African origin of modern humans, although a
multiregional origin of modern humanshypothesis has much support (which incorporates past evidence of Asian
origins)
Scientific racism - the theory that humanity consists of physically discrete superior or inferior races. Rendered
obsolete by Human evolutionary geneticsand modern anthropology.[2]

Mendelian genetics, classical genetics, Boveri–Sutton chromosome theory– first genetic theories. Not invalidated as
such, but subsumed intomolecular genetics.
Germ line theory, explained immunoglobulin diversityby proposing that eachantibody was encoded in a separate
germline gene.[3][4]

Chemistry
Caloric theory – the theory that a self-repelling fluid called "caloric" was the substance of heat. Rendered obsolete by
the mechanical theory of heat.
Classical elements – All matter was once thought composed of various combinations of classical elements (most
famously air, earth, fire, and water).Antoine Lavoisier finally refuted this in his 1789 publication,Elements of
Chemistry, which contained the first modern list of chemical elements.
Phlogiston theory – The theory that combustible goods contain a substance called "phlogiston" that entered air
during combustion. Replaced byLavoisier's work on oxidation
Point 2 of Dalton's Atomic Theorywas rendered obsolete by discovery ofisotopes, and point 3 by discovery of
subatomic particles and nuclear reactions.
Vitalism – See section on biology.

Physics
Emission theory of vision– the belief that vision is caused by rays emanating from the eyes was superseded by the
intro-mission approach and more complex theories ofvision
Aristotelian physics – superseded by Newtonian physics
Ptolemy's law of refraction, replaced by Snell's law
 Luminiferous aether – failed to be detected by the sufficiently sensitive Michelson-Morley experiment, made obsolete
by Einstein's work.
Caloric theory – Lavoisier's successor to phlogiston, discredited byRumford's and Joule's work
Contact tension – a theory on the source of electricity
Vis viva – Gottfried Leibniz's elementary and limited early formulation of the principle of conservation of energy
"Purely electrostatic" theories of the generation of voltage differences.
Emitter theory – another now-obsolete theory of light propagation
Balance of nature – superseded by catastrophe theory and chaos theory
Progression of atomic theory

Democritus, the originator of atomic theory, held that everything is composed of atoms that are indestructible. His
claim that atoms are indestructible is not the reason it is superseded—as it was later scientists who identified the
concept of atoms with particles, which later science showed are destructible. Democritus' theory is superseded
because of his position that several kinds of atoms explain pure materials like water or iron, and characteristics
that science now identifies with molecules rather than with indestructible primary particles. Democritus also held
that between atoms, an empty space of a dif ferent nature than atoms allowed atoms to move. This view on
space and matter persisted until Einstein described spacetime as being relative and connected to matter .
John Dalton's model of the atom, which held that atoms are indivisible and indestructible (superseded by nuclear
physics) and that all atoms of a given element are identical in mass (superseded by discovery of atomic
isotopes).[5]
Plum pudding model of the atom—assuming the protons and electrons were mixed together in a single mass
Rutherford model of the atom with an impenetrable nucleus orbited by electrons
Bohr model with quantized orbits
Electron cloud model following the development ofquantum mechanics in 1925 and the eventualatomic orbital
models derived from the quantum mechanical solution to the hydrogen atom
All of classical physics, including Newtonian physics, superseded by relativistic physics and quantum physics.
However, classical physics is a limiting caseof the latter two theories, and it is often a very good approximation.

Astronomy and cosmology

Ptolemaic system – replaced by Nicolaus Copernicus' heliocentric model.
Geocentric universe – made obsolete by Copernicus
Heliocentric universe – made obsolete by discovery of the structure of theMilky Way and the red shift of most
galaxies. Heliocentrism only applies to the selected Solar System, and only approximately, since the Sun's center is
not at the Solar System'scenter of mass.
Copernican system – made obsolete by Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton
Newtonian gravity – superseded by general relativity, to which it is a good approximation unless typical speeds
approach that of light in a vacuum (c). The anomalousperihelion precession of Mercurywas the first observational
evidence that Newtonian gravity was not totally accurate.
Luminiferous aether theory
Steady state theory, a model developed byHermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle whereby the expanding
universe was in a steady state, and had no beginning. It was a competitor of theBig Bang model until evidence
supporting the Big Bang and falsifying the steady state was found.
Many planets and other objects were once thought to exist but are now known not to – see List of hypothetical Solar
System objects

Geography and climate

Flat Earth theory. On length scales much smaller thanthe radius of the Earth, a flatmap projection gives a quite
accurate and practically useful approximation to true distances and sizes, but departures from flatness become
increasingly significant over larger distances.
Terra Australis
Hollow Earth theory
The Open Polar Sea, an ice-free sea once supposed to surround theNorth Pole
Rain follows the plow – the theory that human settlement increases rainfall in arid regions (only true to the extent that
crop fields evapotranspirate more than barren wilderness)
Island of California – the theory that California was not part of mainland North America but rather a large island
Inland sea of Australia[6][7]
 Environmental determinism

Climatic determinism
Topographic determinis

Drainage divides are always made up by hills and mountains.

Geology
Abiogenic petroleum origin
Catastrophism was largely replaced byuniformitarianism and neocatastrophism
Cryptoexplosion craters, now discarded in favour of impact craters and ordinary volcanism.
Flood geology replaced by modern geology and stratigraphy
Neptunism replaced by plutonism and volcanism
Granitization a discredited alternative to a magmatic origin of granites
Monoglaciation
Oscillation theory of land-level rise and subsidence duringdeglaciation
The following were superseded byplate tectonics:

Elevation crater theory

Expanding Earth theory(superseded by subduction)
Contracting Earth
Geosyncline theory
Haarman's Oscillation theory
Various lost landmasses including Lemuria

Psychology
Pure behaviorist explanations forlanguage acquisition in infancy, falsified by the study of cognitive adaptations for
language.[8]
Psychomotor patterning, a pseudoscientific approach to the treatment ofintellectual disabilities, brain injury, learning
disabilities, and other cognitive diseases.[9]

Medicine
Theory of the four bodily humours (see also Four temperaments)

Heroic medicine – a therapeutic method derived from the belief in bodily humour imbalances as the cause of
ailments.
Miasma theory of disease– the theory that diseases are caused by "bad air". No experimental support, and
rendered obsolete by thegerm theory of disease.
Phrenology – a theory of highly localised brain function popular in 19th century medicine.
Homeopathy – a theory according to which a disease can be cured by infinitesimal doses of the substance that
caused it
Eclectic medicine – Transformed into alternative medicine, and is no longer considered a scientific theory
Physiognomy, related to phrenology, held that inner character was strongly correlated with physical appearance
Tooth worm, an erroneous theory of the cause ofdental caries, periodontitis, and toothaches

Obsolete branches of enquiry

Alchemy, which led to the development ofchemistry
Astrology, which led to the development ofastronomy
Phrenology, a pseudoscience
Numerology, a pseudoscience
Theories now considered incomplete
Here are theories that are no longer considered the most complete representation of reality, but remain useful in particular domains or
under certain conditions. For some theories a more complete model is known, but in practical use the coarser approximation provides
good results with much less calculation.

Atomic nuclei disintegrate at high energy.

Newtonian mechanics was extended by the theory of relativity and by quantum mechanics. Relativistic corrections to
Newtonian mechanics are immeasurably small at velocities not approaching the speed of light,[10] and quantum
[11]
corrections are usually negligible at atomic or larger scales; Newtonian mechanics is totally satisfactory in
engineering and physics under most circumstances.
Classical electrodynamicsis a very close approximation toquantum electrodynamicsexcept at very small scales and
low field strengths.
Bohr model of the atom was extended by the quantum mechanical model of the atom.
The formula known asNewton's sine-square law of air resistancefor the force of a fluid on a body, though not
actually formulated by Newton but by others using a method of calculation used by Newton, has been found
incorrect and not useful except for high-speedhypersonic flow.[12]
[13]
The once popular Cycle of erosion is now considered one of many possibilities for landscape evolution.
The theory of continental drift was incorporated into and improved upon byplate tectonics.

See also
Scientific theory
Philosophy of science
Protoscience
Fringe science
Pathological science
Paradigm shift
History of evolutionary thought
Creation–evolution controversy

Lists
List of discredited substances
List of famous discoveries
List of famous experiments
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

References
1. Popper, Karl (1963), Conjectures and Refutations, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, UK. Reprinted inTheodore
Schick (ed., 2000), Readings in the Philosophy of Science, Mayfield Publishing Company, Mountain View, Calif.
2. Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association."scientific racism" (https://www.americananthro.org/C
onnectWithAAA/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=2583) . AAA Statement on Race. American Anthropological Association.
Retrieved 15 December 2018.
3. "germline theory" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10759/def-item/A2844/). Glossary. NCBI.
4. Lefers, Mark. "germ-line theory" (http://groups.molbiosci.northwestern.edu/holmgren/Glossary/Definitions/Def-G/ger
m-line_theory.html). Glossary. Northwestern University. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
5. De Leon, Professor N."Dalton's Atomic Theory"(http://www.iun.edu/~cpanhd/C101webnotes/composition/dalton.htm
l). Chemistry 101 Class Notes. Indiana University Northwest. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
6. Cathcart, Michael (2009).The Water Dreamers: How Water and Silence Shaped Australia. Melbourne: Text
Publishing. chapter 7. ISBN 9781921520648.
7. An inland sea, the Eromanga Sea, did exist there in the Mesozoic, but not during any period of human history
 8. Crain, Stephen and Diane C. Lillo-Martin (1999).An Introduction to Linguistic Theory and Language Acquisition
.
Oxford: Blackwell.
9. Steven Novella, MD. "Psychomotor Patterning"(http://srmhp.org/archives/patterning.html). Retrieved October 16,
2014.
10. Hassani, Sadri (2010).From Atoms to Galaxies: A Conceptual Physics Approach to Scientific wareness
A (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=eVzNBQAAQBAJ)(illustrated ed.). CRC Press. p. 387.ISBN 978-1-4398-8284-9. Extract
of page 387 (https://books.google.com/books?id=eVzNBQAAQBAJ&pg=P A387)
11. Casimir, H. B. G.; Brugt, Hendrik; Casimir, Gerhard (2010). Haphazard Reality: Half a Century of Science(https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=4Ff9Cb6ji4MC). Amsterdam University Press. p. 32.ISBN 978-90-8964-200-4. Extract of
page 32 (https://books.google.com/books?id=4Ff9Cb6ji4MC&pg=P A32)
12. Aerodynamics: Selected Topics in the Light of Their Historical Development,book by Theodore V on Karman, 1954,
Dover Publications, p10 and following pages(https://books.google.com/books?id=NcGWXoDw7c8C&pg=P A10)
Detailed discussion of Newton's sine-square law, invalidity in the general case and applicability at high supersonic
speeds.
13. Orme, Anthony R. (2007). "The Rise and Fall of the Davisian Cycle of Erosion: Prelude, Fugue, Coda, and Sequel".
Physical Geography. 28 (6): 474–506. doi:10.2747/0272-3646.28.6.474(https://doi.org/10.2747%2F0272-3646.28.6.
474).

External links
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