Imagination goes ahead of reality, from time to time.
Surely, a lot of theoretical scientists (e.g., Abrikosov) admit that they follow closely experiments. And they are mostly motivated by them. In numerous cases, little interest might be invested in a subject until some lab fellows could get their hands on it. Graphene offers a typical example of this kind. Before 2004, few body payed attention to this seemingly abstract material. The situation drastically changed due to Geim et al's fabrication. Often, only after the material becomes experimentally available and controllable will theorists come out to construct models and explain observations or make predictions. Efforts are primarily concentrated on such systems that already exist or at least, likely to exist. A great portion of work then surrounds the comparison between models and empirical data. This is especially true with particle physics or other arena where fundamental laws are sought. In these fields, the objects are created by GOD and already there and to be discovered.
But, in materials science or more generally, in condensed matter physics, one has to reset mind. Here, many things are invented rather than discovered. Experimentalists can be motivated by theorists, and model can advance data. Novel phases may not exist in any materials that are known currently, but in some models that are constructed merely by imagination. These models, although seem irrelevant to reality when they are born, could drive some workers to look for possibilities of realizing them in labs. On such occasions, it is not about qualifying or falsifying a theory. It is about how to put it into reality and into use. A nice example might be the spin liquid or Z2 gauge theory or string model. All these when born were nothing but brain products. But these thought products have been behind many many many wonderful experimental work.
In short, theory can go ahead. And it is not always about explanation and prediction. It can fostering new reality.
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