How important are proofs in physics? If something is mathematically proven to follow from something we know is true, does it still require experimental verification? Are there examples of things that have been mathematically proven to some reasonable degree of rigor (eg satisfy a mathematician) that turned out to be false based on experiment?
[Physics] How important is mathematical proof in physics
foundationsmathematical physicsmathematicssoft-question
Best Answer
Mathematical proofs relate to exactly how a MODEL will behave. They don't have much to do with how the real world behaves. If the mathematics is carried out correctly, then one has "proven" how the model will behave.
The reason for experimentation, is to find out if the completely fictional MODEL that somebody simply made up, behaves in any way the same, as observations suggest the real world behaves. If it doesn't, that is not an indication of a mathematical error, it simply means the fictional model is not a good description of the real world, and must be changed.