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 laws of nature are not arbitrary, but are determined by some underlying principle of symmetry.
The theory of quantum gravity is still in its early stages of development.
The ultimate goal of physics is to find a theory of everything.
The laws of nature are not arbitrary, but are determined by some underlying principle of simplicity.
The theory of string theory is a very ambitious theory.
The concept of a quantum vacuum is a very strange one.
The laws of nature are not arbitrary, but are determined by some underlying principle of elegance.
The fundamental laws necessary for the mathematical treatment of a large part of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus completely known, and the difficulty lies only in the fact that application of these laws leads to equations that are too complex to be solved.
A physical law must possess mathematical beauty.
Pick a flower on Earth and you move the farthest star.
In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite.
The aim of science is to make difficult things understandable in a simpler way; the aim of poetry is to state simple things in an incomprehensible way. The two are incompatible.
If you are receptive and humble, mathematics will lead you by the hand.
I consider that I understand an equation when I can predict the properties of its solutions, without actually solving it.
This result is too beautiful to be false; it is more important to have beauty in one's equations than to have them fit experiment.
I cannot understand why we idle discussing religion. If we are honest—and scientists have to be—we must admit that religion is a jumble of false assertions, with no basis in reality. The very idea of God is a product of the human imagination.
In the case of atomic physics, the most important of the new ideas was, of course, that of the quantum.
The measure of greatness in a scientific idea is the extent to which it stimulates thought and opens up new lines of research.
A great deal of my work is just playing with equations and seeing what they give.
It is more important to have beauty in one's equations than to have them fit experiment... because the discrepancy may be due to minor features that are not properly taken into account and that will get cleared up with further developments of the theory.
Contemporaries of Paul Dirac
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Paul Dirac (1902–1984).