Christian Huygens
Proposed the wave theory of light and made significant contributions to mechanics and horology.
Most quoted
"It is a pleasure to stand upon the shore, and to see ships tossed upon the sea; a pleasure to stand in the window of a castle, and to see a battle and the adventures thereof: but no pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage ground of truth..."
— from Attributed
"One finds in this subject a kind of demonstration which does not carry with it so high a degree of certainty as that of geometry; and which differs distinctly from the method employed by geometers."
— from Treatise on Light, 1690
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."
— from Treatise on Light, 1690
All quotes by Christian Huygens (392)
Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
I have no doubt that light consists of the motion of a substance incomparably more subtle than air.
The truth is, we ordinarily know what we ourselves have been the doers of; but not what other men have done.
How vast those Orbs must be, and particularly what I may call its atmosphere, I will endeavour to compute.
We may as well believe that the planets are inhabited by rational creatures.
The rings of Saturn are not solid, but composed of many small bodies.
Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.
In order to know the true nature of a thing, one must investigate its causes.
The pendulum is the regulator of the world.
Time is the soul of mechanics.
I am convinced that the planets are worlds, and that the fixed stars are also suns.
What a wonderful and amazing scheme have we here of the magnificent vastness of the Universe!
The soul is the source of all motion.
Observation is the foundation of all knowledge.
The harmony of the world is made manifest in the Form of the Cross.
To know the ratio of the times, we must know the ratio of the forces.
Light travels in waves, not as particles.
The universe is a watch, wound up at the beginning and ticking ever since.
Curiosity is the engine of achievement.
Contemporaries of Christian Huygens
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Christian Huygens (1629–1695).