How do scientific laws differ from mere facts?

Scientific laws differ from mere facts primarily by their ability to remain constant over time. While a fact is a simple observation that can be verified and is often a specific data point or piece of information, a scientific law is a generalized statement that describes consistent and universal relationships observed in nature.

For instance, laws such as Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation or the Laws of Thermodynamics are based on repeated experimental findings and observations that have been rigorously tested under various conditions. These laws are recognized for their stability and universality, indicating that they hold true in all relevant situations and are not subject to change with new evidence, as long as the conditions of experimentation are the same.

This quality of being consistently applicable helps distinguish scientific laws from mere facts, which can vary or be perceived differently depending on the context. Therefore, the strength and reliability of scientific laws stem from their ability to provide a framework that reliably predicts natural phenomena across a wide range of scenarios.