Experimental Physics

At the risk of being controversial, I would like to suggest that experiments are much more powerful than theories because experiments provide the evidence to prove whether or not a theory is correct.

Technically, you can’t prove that a theory is correct: you can only prove that it works for the particular case that you are testing. But you can prove a theory wrong with just one reproducible experiment that goes against that theory. (Incidentally, it is often claimed that Einstein made this statement but according to quora.com the claim is unlikely to be true!) 

When it comes to doing physics (the experimental side of things) we need to realise that there is a difference between controlling the world and understanding the world. 

Suppose that we place a sheet of paper on a table and a gust of wind then blows the paper off the table. When we put the paper back on the table we might shut the nearby open window that let the wind in. That would be fine, but if we were watching a magic trick we might find that the paper still leaves the table even when the window is shut. So then we would need to look for another reason. We might wonder whether there is a fine thread that is attached to the paper. Or we might think there is something under the paper that is repelling it from the table. Alternatively, we might not worry about any of this: we might just put a weight on top of the paper to stop it moving. 

The person who puts a weight on the paper is simply trying to control the world whereas the person who looks for the cause of the observed effect is trying to understand the world.

To do physics well, we need to make sure that we are always trying to understand rather than just control. And to do experimental physics well, we need to be investigating the cause of an effect rather than the effect itself.