A principle stating that allele and genotype frequencies remain constant in a population from generation to generation under specific conditions: no mutations, no selection, no gene flow, infinite population size, and random mating.
Named after mathematician G.H. Hardy and physician Wilhelm Weinberg who independently formulated this principle in 1908. Hardy was initially responding to a question about why dominant alleles don't increase in frequency over time, while Weinberg was studying population genetics in medicine.
Hardy-Weinberg is like a null hypothesis for evolution - it tells us what would happen if evolution WASN'T occurring! When real populations deviate from Hardy-Weinberg predictions, it's like a genetic detective story revealing which evolutionary forces are at work.
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