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)
The vacuum is not empty. It is full of virtual particles.
The concept of a quantum vacuum is one of the most profound ideas in modern physics.
The theory of quantum electrodynamics is the most accurate theory in physics.
The renormalization procedure is a very clever trick, but it is not a fundamental solution.
I don't like the word 'renormalization'. It's a fudge.
The problem of infinities in quantum field theory is still not completely solved.
The future of physics lies in the development of a unified theory of all forces.
The search for a theory of everything is the ultimate goal of physics.
The universe is a very strange place.
The laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe.
The principle of least action is a very powerful principle.
The Lagrangian formulation of mechanics is very elegant.
The Hamiltonian formulation of mechanics is also very elegant.
The connection between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics is very deep.
The correspondence principle is a very important principle.
The uncertainty principle is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics.
The wave function is a mathematical object that describes the state of a quantum system.
The collapse of the wave function is a very mysterious process.
The measurement problem in quantum mechanics is still not completely understood.
The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is an interesting idea, but I don't believe it.
Contemporaries of Paul Dirac
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Paul Dirac (1902–1984).