This is a list of scientific laws named after people (eponymous laws). For other lists of eponyms, see eponym.
| Law | Field | Person(s) Named After |
|---|---|---|
| Abel's theorem | Calculus | Niels Henrik Abel |
| Amdahl's law | Computer science | Gene Amdahl |
| Ampère's circuital law | Physics | André-Marie Ampère |
| Archie's law | Geology | Gus Archie |
| Archimedes' principle | Physics | Archimedes |
| Arrhenius equation | Chemical kinetics | Svante Arrhenius |
| Avogadro's law | Thermodynamics | Amedeo Avogadro |
| Bell's theorem | Quantum mechanics | John Stewart Bell |
| Beer–Lambert law | Optics | August Beer, Johann Heinrich Lambert |
| Bernoulli's principle Bernoulli's equation |
Physical sciences | Daniel Bernoulli |
| Biot–Savart law | Electromagnetics, fluid dynamics | Jean Baptiste Biot and Félix Savart |
| Birch's law | Geophysics | Francis Birch |
| Bogoliubov–Born–Green–Kirkwood–Yvon hierarchy | Physics | Nikolay Bogoliubov, Max Born, Herbert Green, John Kirkwood, and J. Yvon |
| Bogoliubov transformation | Quantum mechanics | Nikolay Bogoliubov |
| Boltzmann equation | Thermodynamics | Ludwig Boltzmann |
| Born's law | Quantum mechanics | Max Born |
| Boyle's law | Thermodynamics | Robert Boyle |
| Bradford's law | Computer science | Samuel C. Bradford |
| Buys Ballot's law | Meteorology | C.H.D. Buys Ballot |
| Byerlee's law | Geophysics | James Byerlee |
| Carnot's theorem | Thermodynamics | Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot |
| Cauchy's integral formula Cauchy–Riemann equations |
Complex analysis | Augustin Louis Cauchy Augustin Louis Cauchy and Bernhard Riemann |
| Cayley–Hamilton theorem | Linear algebra | Arthur Cayley and William Hamilton |
| Charles's law | Thermodynamics | Jacques Charles |
| Church–Turing thesis | Computer science | Alonzo Church and Alan Turing |
| Coulomb's law | Physics | Charles Augustin de Coulomb |
| Law of Charles and Gay-Lussac (frequently called Charles's law) | Thermodynamics | Jacques Charles and Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac |
| Clifford's theorem Clifford's circle theorems |
Algebraic geometry, Geometry | William Kingdon Clifford |
| Curie's law | Physics | Pierre Curie |
| Curie–Weiss law | Physics | Pierre Curie and Pierre-Ernest Weiss |
| D'Alembert's paradox D'Alembert's principle |
Fluid dynamics, Physics | Jean le Rond d'Alembert |
| Dalton's law of partial pressure | Thermodynamics | John Dalton |
| Darcy's law | Fluid mechanics | Henry Darcy |
| De Bruijn–Erdős theorem | Mathematics | Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn and Paul Erdős |
| De Morgan's law | Logic | Augustus De Morgan |
| Dermott's law | Celestial mechanics | Stanley Dermott |
| Descartes' theorem | Geometry | René Descartes |
| Dirac equation Dirac delta function Dirac comb Dirac spinor Dirac operator |
Mathematics, Physics | Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac |
| Drake equation | Cosmology | Frank Drake |
| Doppler effect | Physics | Christian Doppler |
| Ehrenfest's theorem | Quantum mechanics | Paul Ehrenfest |
| Einstein's general theory of relativity Einstein's special theory of relativity |
Physics | Albert Einstein |
| Erdős–Anning theorem |
Mathematics | Paul Erdős and Norman H. Anning |
| Erdős–Beck theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and József Beck |
| Erdős–Gallai theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and Tibor Gallai |
| Erdős–Kac theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and Mark Kac |
| Erdős–Ko–Rado theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős, Ke Zhao, and Richard Rado |
| Erdős–Nagy theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and Béla Szőkefalvi-Nagy |
| Erdős–Rado theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and Richard Rado |
| Erdős–Stone theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and Arthur Harold Stone |
| Erdős–Szekeres theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and George Szekeres |
| Erdős–Szemerédi theorem | Mathematics | Paul Erdős and Endre Szemerédi |
| Euclid's theorem | Number theory | Euclid |
| Euler's theorem |
Number theory | Leonhard Euler |
| Faraday's law of induction Faraday's law of electrolysis |
Electromagnetism Chemistry |
Michael Faraday |
| Faxén's law | Fluid dynamics | Hilding Faxén |
| Fermat's principle Fermat's last theorem Fermat's little theorem |
Optics Number theory Number theory |
Pierre de Fermat |
| Fermi paradox Fermi's golden rule Fermi acceleration Fermi hole Fermionic field Fermi level |
Cosmology, Physics | Enrico Fermi |
| Fick's law of diffusion | Thermodynamics | Adolf Fick |
| Fitts's law | Ergonomics | Paul Fitts |
| Fourier's law | Thermodynamics | Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier |
| Gauss's law Gauss's law for magnetism Gauss's principle of least constraint Gauss's digamma theorem Gauss's hypergeometric theorem Gaussian function |
Mathematics, Physics | Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss |
| Gibbs–Helmholtz equation | Thermodynamics | Josiah Willard Gibbs, Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz |
| Gödel's incompleteness theorems | Mathematics | Kurt Gödel |
| Graham's law | Thermodynamics | Thomas Graham |
| Grimm's law | Linguistics | Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm |
| Heisenberg's uncertainty principle | Theoretical physics | Werner Heisenberg |
| Hellmann–Feynman theorem | Physics | Hans Hellmann, Richard Feynman |
| Henry's law | Thermodynamics | William Henry |
| Hertz observations | Electromagnetism | Heinrich Hertz |
| Hess's law | Thermodynamics | Germain Henri Hess |
| Hilbert's basis theorem Hilbert's axioms Hilbert function Hilbert's irreducibility theorem Hilbert's syzygy theorem Hilbert's Theorem 90 Hilbert's theorem |
Mathematics | David Hilbert |
| Hohenberg–Kohn theorem | Quantum mechanics | Pierre Hohenberg and Walter Kohn |
| Helmholtz's theorems Helmholtz theorem Helmholtz free energy Helmholtz decomposition Helmholtz equation Helmholtz resonance |
Thermodynamics Physics |
Hermann von Helmholtz |
| Hooke's law | Physics | Robert Hooke |
| Hopkinson's law | Electromagnetism | John Hopkinson |
| Hubble's law | Cosmology | Edwin Hubble |
| Hund's rules | Atomic physics | Friedrich Hund |
| Huygens–Fresnel principle | Optics | Christiaan Huygens and Augustin-Jean Fresnel |
| Joule's laws | Physics | James Joule |
| Jurin's law | Physics | James Jurin |
| Kasha's rule | Photochemistry | Michael Kasha |
| Kepler's laws of planetary motion | Astrophysics | Johannes Kepler |
| Kirchhoff's laws | Electronics, thermodynamics | Gustav Kirchhoff |
| Kopp's law | Thermodynamics | Hermann Franz Moritz Kopp |
| Lagrangian point Lagrange reversion theorem Lagrange polynomial Lagrange's four-square theorem Lagrange's theorem Lagrange's theorem (group theory) Lagrange invariant Lagrange multiplier |
Mathematics, Astrophysics | Joseph Louis Lagrange |
| Lamm equation | Chemistry, Biophysics | Ole Lamm |
| Langmuir equation | Surface Chemistry | Irving Langmuir |
| Laplace transform Laplace's equation Laplace operator Laplace distribution Laplace invariant Laplace expansion Laplace principle Laplace limit |
Mathematics Physics Probability Theory Statistical mechanics |
Pierre-Simon Laplace |
| Le Chatelier's principle | Chemistry | Henri Louis le Chatelier |
| Leibniz's law | Ontology | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz |
| Lenz's law | Physics | Heinrich Lenz |
| Leonard–Merritt mass estimator | Astrophysics | Peter Leonard, David Merritt |
| l'Hôpital's rule | Mathematics | Guillaume de l'Hôpital |
| Mach principle Mach reflection |
Physics | Ernst Mach |
| Marconi's law | Scientific | Guglielmo Marconi |
| Markovnikov's rule | Organic Chemistry | Vladimir Markovnikov |
| Maupertuis' principle | Mathematics | Pierre Louis Maupertuis |
| Maxwell's equations Maxwell relations |
Electrodynamics Thermodynamics |
James Clerk Maxwell |
| Metcalfe's law | Network theory | Robert Metcalfe |
| Mikheyev–Smirnov–Wolfenstein effect | Particle Physics | Stanislav Mikheyev, Alexei Smirnov, and Lincoln Wolfenstein |
| Milner–Rado paradox | Mathematical logic | Eric Charles Milner and Richard Rado |
| Minkowski's theorem | Number theory | Hermann Minkowski |
| Moore's law | Computing | Gordon Moore |
| Nash embedding theorem Nash equilibrium |
Topology Game Theory |
John Forbes Nash |
| Nernst equation | Electrochemistry | Walther Nernst |
| Newton's law of cooling Newton's law of universal gravitation Newton's laws of motion |
Thermodynamics Astrophysics Mechanics |
Isaac Newton |
| Noether's theorem | Theoretical physics | Emmy Noether |
| Nurgaliev's law | Demography | Nurgaliev's law |
| Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem | Information theory | Harry Nyquist, Claude Elwood Shannon |
| Occam's razor | Philosophy of science | William of Ockham |
| Ohm's law | Electronics | Georg Ohm |
| Osipkov–Merritt model | Astrophysics | Leonid Osipkov, David Merritt |
| Ostwald dilution law | Physical chemistry | Wilhelm Ostwald |
| Paley–Wiener theorem | Mathematics | Raymond Paley and Norbert Wiener |
| Pareto distribution Pareto efficiency Pareto index Pareto principle |
Economics | Vilfredo Pareto |
| Pascal's law Pascal's theorem |
Physics Geometry |
Blaise Pascal |
| Pauli exclusion principle | Quantum mechanics | Wolfgang Pauli |
| Peano axioms | Foundational mathematics | Giuseppe Peano |
| Planck's law | Electromagnetism | Max Planck |
| Poincaré–Bendixson theorem | Mathematics | Henri Poincaré and Ivar Otto Bendixson |
| Poincaré–Birkhoff–Witt theorem | Mathematics | Henri Poincaré, George David Birkhoff, and Ernst Witt |
| Poincaré–Hopf theorem | Mathematics | Henri Poincaré and Heinz Hopf |
| Poincaré recurrence theorem Poincaré conjecture Poincaré lemma |
Mathematics | Henri Poincaré |
| Poiseuille's law | Fluidics | Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille |
| Poisson distribution Poisson's equation |
Statistics Calculus |
Siméon Denis Poisson |
| Ptolemy's theorem | Geometry | Ptolemy |
| Pythagorean theorem | Geometry | Pythagoras |
| Raman scattering | Physics | Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman |
| Rado's theorem | Discrete mathematics | Richard Rado |
| Ramanujan–Nagell equation |
Mathematics | Srinivasa Ramanujan and Trygve Nagell |
| Raoult's law | Physical chemistry | Francois Marie Raoult |
| Riemann zeta function Riemann hypothesis Riemann integral Riemann lemma Riemannian manifold Riemann sphere Riemann theta function |
Number theory, analysis, geometry | Bernhard Riemann |
| Rolle's theorem | Differential calculus | Michel Rolle |
| Saha ionization equation | Plasma physics | Meghnad Saha |
| Schrödinger equation | Physics | Erwin Schrödinger |
| Sérsic's law | Astrophysics | J. L. Sérsic |
| Snell's law | Optics | Willebrord van Roijen Snell |
| Sokolov–Ternov effect | Particle Physics | Arsenij Sokolov and Igor Ternov |
| Sommerfeld–Kossel displacement law | Spectroscopy | Arnold Sommerfeld and Walther Kossel |
| Stefan–Boltzmann law | Thermodynamics | Jožef Stefan and Ludwig Boltzmann |
| Stokes' law | Fluid mechanics | George Gabriel Stokes |
| Stoletov's law | Photoelectric effect | Aleksandr Stoletov |
| Tarski's undefinability theorem Tarski's axioms |
Mathematical logic, Geometry | Alfred Tarski |
| Thales' theorem | Geometry | Thales |
| Titius–Bode law | Astrophysics | Johann Daniel Titius and Johann Elert Bode |
| Torricelli's law | Physics | Evangelista Torricelli |
| Umov effect | Physics | Nikolay Umov |
| Van der Waals equation | Chemistry | Johannes Diderik van der Waals |
| Vlasov equation | Plasma physics | Anatoly Vlasov |
| Von Neumann bicommutant theorem Von Neumann entropy von Neumann paradox Von Neumann ergodic theorem Von Neumann universe Von Neumann neighborhood Von Neumann's trace inequality |
Mathematics, Quantum mechanics | John von Neumann |
| Weinberg–Witten theorem | Quantum Gravity | Steven Weinberg and Edward Witten |
| Weyl character formula |
Mathematics | Hermann Weyl |
| Wien's law | Physics | Wilhelm Wien |
| Wiener–Khinchin theorem | Mathematics | Norbert Wiener and Aleksandr Khinchin |
| Young–Laplace equation | Fluid dynamics | Thomas Young and Pierre-Simon Laplace |
| Zipf's law | Linguistics | George Kingsley Zipf |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, scientific, laws, named and/or people:
“Modern tourist guides have helped raised tourist expectations. And they have provided the nativesfrom Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichacestenangowith a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to- date scripts for actors on the tourists stage.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
“Feminism is an entire world view or gestalt, not just a laundry list of womens issues.”
—Charlotte Bunch (b. 1944)
“The conclusion suggested by these arguments might be called the paradox of theorizing. It asserts that if the terms and the general principles of a scientific theory serve their purpose, i. e., if they establish the definite connections among observable phenomena, then they can be dispensed with since any chain of laws and interpretive statements establishing such a connection should then be replaceable by a law which directly links observational antecedents to observational consequents.”
—C.G. (Carl Gustav)
“We are told to maintain constitutions because they are constitutions, and what is laid down in those constitutions?... Certain great fundamental ideas of right are common to the world, and ... all laws of mans making which trample on these ideas, are null and voidwrong to obey, right to disobey. The Constitution of the United States recognizes human slavery; and makes the souls of men articles of purchase and of sale.”
—Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (18421932)
“And then the man whom Sorrow named his friend
Cried out, Dim sea, hear my most piteous story!
The sea swept on and cried her old cry still,
Rolling along in dreams from hill to hill.
He fled the persecution of her glory....”
—William Butler Yeats (18651939)
“Im coming home. I remember your saying when I left that people were dying and that I was crapping around with fate to come here. You were more right than you could imagine.”
—Judith Rascoe, U.S. screenwriter, Robert Stone (b. 1939)