Paul Dirac
Predicted antimatter and formulated Dirac equation
Most quoted
"The underlying physical laws necessary for the mathematical theory of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus completely known, and the difficulty is only that the exact application of these laws leads to equations much too complicated to be soluble. It is the purpose of theoretical physics to show that it is possible to derive, from these equations, the properties of the actual world."
— from Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1929
"The methods of progress in theoretical physics have undergone a vast change during the present century. The classical tradition has been to consider the world to be an association of observable objects (particles, fluids, fields, etc.) moving about according to definite laws of force, so that one could form a mental picture in space and time of the whole scheme."
— from Quantised Singularities in the Electromagnetic Field, 1931
"The most powerful method of advance that can be suggested at present is to employ all the resources of pure mathematics in attempts to perfect and generalise the mathematical formalism that forms the existing basis of theoretical physics, and after each success in this direction, to try to interpret the new mathematical features in terms of physical entities."
— from Quantised Singularities in the Electromagnetic Field, 1931
All quotes by Paul Dirac (692)
I was taught at school never to begin a sentence with 'And' or 'But.' If I did, I was made to write it out 100 times. I have been breaking this rule ever since.
A physical theory must be beautiful.
It seems to be one of the fundamental features of nature that fundamental physical laws are expressed in terms of a mathematical theory of great beauty and power, a theory which has to be developed by the use of rather advanced mathematics.
The main object of physical science is not the provision of pictures, but the formulation of laws governing phenomena and the application of these laws to the discovery of new phenomena.
The most powerful method of advance that can be used is to employ all the resources of pure mathematics in an attempt to perfect and generalize the mathematical formalism that forms the basis of any theory.
The underlying physical laws necessary for the mathematical theory of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus completely known, and the difficulty is only that the exact application of these laws leads to equations much too complicated to be soluble.
It is more important to have beauty in one's equations than to have them fit experiment.
One should not try to make a theory more general than nature requires.
A good deal of my research in physics has consisted in not setting out to solve a problem but in trying to improve the existing mathematical formalism.
The value of a theory is not measured by its agreement with experiment, but by its internal consistency and its mathematical beauty.
God used beautiful mathematics in creating the world.
The electron is a rather simple particle, but the proton is a very complicated one. The proton is a particle that has internal structure, and we don't know what it is.
The quantum theory of the electron was the first step in the development of quantum electrodynamics.
The purpose of physics is to understand the universe.
The physicist's task is to find the laws of nature, and to express them in mathematical form.
The theory of relativity is a beautiful theory, but it is not a quantum theory.
The development of quantum mechanics has been a very exciting period in the history of physics.
The idea of a quantum field is a very powerful one.
The existence of antimatter was predicted by my theory.
The positron was discovered in 1932, and that was a great triumph for my theory.
Contemporaries of Paul Dirac
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Paul Dirac (1902–1984).