Wilhelm Ostwald
He made significant contributions to catalysis, chemical equilibria, and reaction velocities, winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Most quoted
"All scientific work is incomplete — whether it be observational or experimental. All scientific work is liable to be upset or modified by advancing knowledge. That does not confer upon us a freedom to ignore the knowledge we already have, or to postpone the action that it appears to demand at a given time."
— from Essays
"The true method of discovery is like the flight of an aeroplane. It starts from the ground of particular observation; it makes a flight in the thin air of imaginative generalization; and it again lands for renewed observation rendered acute by rational interpretation."
— from The Philosophy of Science
"The laws of thermodynamics control, in the last resort, the rise and fall of political systems, the freedom or bondage of nations, the movements of commerce and industry, the origins of wealth and poverty, and the general physical welfare of the human race."
— from Der energetische Imperativ, 1912
All quotes by Wilhelm Ostwald (387)
Color is the father of the light.
The universe is a grand chemical laboratory.
In science, as in life, the simplest explanation is often the correct one.
Progress in chemistry depends on the harmony between theory and experiment.
Life is a perpetual transformation of energy.
The atom is not the ultimate particle; it is a system of energies.
True wisdom lies in understanding the limitations of our knowledge.
Chemistry teaches us that nothing is created or destroyed, only transformed.
The beauty of science is in its pursuit of truth, unyielding and pure.
In the dance of electrons, we see the rhythm of the universe.
Humor in science lightens the burden of discovery.
Politics should learn from chemistry: balance is key to stability.
The mind is like a catalyst; it speeds the reaction of ideas.
Every great discovery begins with a question unanswered.
Life's meaning is found in the energy we expend and transform.
Colors speak louder than words in the language of nature.
The Nobel Prize is but a milestone on the endless road of science.
Doubt is the spark that ignites scientific progress.
In chemistry, as in love, reactions are unpredictable yet profound.
The essence of matter is motion, not substance.
Contemporaries of Wilhelm Ostwald
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932).