Full Idea
If a law of nuclear physics says that nuclei of a certain kind have a probability p of decaying within time t, what is the regularity here?
Gist of Idea
Where is the regularity in a law predicting nuclear decay?
Source
Alexander Bird (Philosophy of Science [1998], Ch.1)
Book Reference
Bird,Alexander: 'Philosophy of Science' [UCL Press 2000], p.35
A Reaction
Hume gives an answer, in terms of regularities observed among previous instances. Nevertheless the figure p given in the law does not itself have any instances, so the law is predicting something that may never have actually happened before.