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)
Every experiment is a question put to nature.
The true scientist is an artist at heart.
One must always be ready to abandon a cherished hypothesis if the facts contradict it.
My life's work has been to bring order into the chaos of chemical phenomena.
The Nobel Prize is a great honor, but the greatest reward is the joy of discovery itself.
To understand is to simplify.
Color is a language, and I am learning to speak it.
My dear friend, do not be afraid to challenge the established views.
The universe is a vast system of energy transformations.
Every scientific theory is a temporary scaffolding, to be replaced by a better one.
The beauty of science lies in its ability to reveal the hidden order of the world.
We must teach our students to think, not just to memorize.
The most important tool of a scientist is his imagination.
My work on catalysis is an attempt to understand the very essence of chemical change.
The world needs more scientists who are also humanists.
Do not fear failure; it is a stepping stone to success.
The true measure of a scientist is not the number of papers published, but the impact of their ideas.
I find immense satisfaction in bringing clarity to complex phenomena.
The future of chemistry lies in its connection to physics.
Let us strive for a universal language of science.
Contemporaries of Wilhelm Ostwald
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932).