Model theory

Article By:

White, K. Preston, Jr. Department of Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Last reviewed:March 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.429000

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• Model theory, published January 2020:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

The body of knowledge that concerns the fundamental nature, function, development, and use of formal models in science and technology. In its most general sense, a model is a proxy. A model is one entity used to represent some other entity for some well-defined purpose. Examples of models include: (1) An idea (mental model), such as the internalized model of a person's relationships with the environment, used to guide behavior. (2) A picture or drawing (iconic model), such as a map used to record or present geological data (Fig. 1), or a solids model used to design a machine component. (3) A verbal or written description (linguistic model), such as the protocol for a biological experiment or the transcript of a medical operation, used to guide and improve procedures. (4) A physical object (scale model, analog model, or prototype), such as a model airfoil used in the wind-tunnel testing of a new aircraft design, or an electronic circuit used to simulate the neural activity of the brain. (5) A system of equations and logical expressions (mathematical model or computer simulation), such as the mass- and energy-balance equations that predict the end products of a chemical reaction, or a computer program that simulates the flight of a space vehicle. Models are developed and used to help hypothesize, define, explore, understand, simulate, predict, design, or communicate some aspect of the original entity for which the model is a substitute. See also: Airfoil; Chemistry; Hypothesis; Wind tunnel

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