In theoretical physics, a thought experiment (or Gedankenexperiment, from the German word) describes an imaginary situation to test the statements of a theory or to establish a theory. A famous example of a thought experiment is Einstein's reflections on the theory of relativity. He had no way of conducting experiments, so he devised the theory using imaginary experiments on moving clocks and light rays reflected off mirrors. For example, time passes more slowly on moving clocks, an effect that could not be measured experimentally until many years later. >[!read]- Further Reading >[!ref]- References