Gilbert N. Lewis
He introduced the concept of covalent bonding and the Lewis dot structure for molecules.
Most quoted
"We may say that a basic substance is one which has a lone pair of electrons which may be used to complete the stable group of another atom, and that an acid is one which can employ a lone pair from another molecule in completing the stable group of one of its own atoms."
— from Valence and the Structure of Atoms and Molecules, 1923
"I have no patience with attempts to identify science with measurement, which is but one of its tools, or with any definition of the scientist which would exclude a Darwin, a Pasteur, or a Kekule."
— from The Anatomy of Science, 1926
"The essential feature of the theory of relativity is that it introduces a new conception of space and time, not that it modifies the laws of mechanics and electrodynamics."
— from The Anatomy of Science, 1926
All quotes by Gilbert N. Lewis (412)
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you want to understand something, try to change it.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
I am not a teacher, but an awakener.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.
The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
The only way to escape the corruptible effect of praise is to go on working.
Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it.
I have no doubt that the universe is a machine, but it is a machine of such complexity that it is beyond our comprehension.
The greatest discovery of all is the discovery of the human mind.
The beauty of science lies in its ability to reveal the hidden order of the universe.
We are all stardust, and to stardust we shall return.
The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.
The most profound questions are those that cannot be answered.
To understand is to forgive.
Life is a journey, not a destination.
The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without meaning.
Contemporaries of Gilbert N. Lewis
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Gilbert N. Lewis (1875–1946).