Saturday, August 15, 2009

Physics Quote of the Day (August 9 - August 15)

"It is proper to submit periodically to a very searching examination, principles that we have come to assume without any more discussion." Louis de Broglie, born 15 August 1892.

"The agreement of this law with nature will be better seen by the repetition of experiments than by a long explanation." Hans Christian Ørsted, born 14 August 1777.

"It is very difficult for us, placed as we have been from earliest childhood in a condition of training, to say what would have been our feelings had such training never taken place." George Gabriel Stokes, born 13 August 1819.

"I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is deficient. It gives a lot of factual information, puts all our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us." Erwin Schrödinger, born 12 August 1887.

"I like teaching and the contact with young minds keeps one on one's toes." Aaron Klug, born 11 August 1926.

"There are many examples in physics showing that higher precision revealed new phenomena, inspired new ideas, or confirmed or dethroned well-established theories." Wolfgang Paul, born 10 August 1913.

"Theoretical chemistry is a peculiar subject. It is based on an equation that can hardly ever be solved." William Fowler, born 9 August 1911.

1 comment:

  1. Lovely quotes Arjen, but it seems that open minded attitude is now all in the past. The quote that 'physics won't change until all the old physicists die' is now untrue, as the old physicist largely control physics and it's funding, and are only producing clones. All those with vision and insight that challenges old paradyigms are now ignored and consigned to the world of crackpots, whether provable or not. The rate of progress has thus slowed dramatically.
    Could this herald the end of development of the human race? To paraphrase AE, 'the only infinate thing is our capacity for ignorance'.