An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

The product of mental activity; that which one thinks; the act or process of thinking.

M.E. thoght; O.E. (ge)thoht, from stem thencan "to think;" cf. O.Fris. thinka, O.S. thenkian, O.H.G. denchen, Ger. denken "to think."

Andišé, noun from andišidan, → think.

A demonstration which is carried out in the realm of the imagination, rather than in a laboratory. Thought experiments are designed to test ideas, theories, and hypotheses which cannot physically be tested, at least with current scientific equipment. Some examples: → Maxwell's demon; → Einstein's elevator; Heisenberg's gamma-ray microscope; → Schrodinger's cat. Also called Gedanken experiment.

→ thought; → experiment. Based on both the Ger./L. compound Gedankenexperiment and its Ger. equivalent Gedankenversuch.