Niels Bohr
Pioneer of quantum theory and atomic structure
Most quoted
"The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer. But that does not mean that it is not a genuine reality. And complementarity, by the way, is not a new invention of mine. It is, in fact, as old as language itself. We have to be clear that when it comes to atoms, language can be used only as poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts as with creating images and establishing connections."
— from Interview with Aage Petersen
"The fact that religions through the ages have spoken in images, parables, and paradoxes means simply that there are no other ways of grasping the reality to which they refer. But that does not mean that it is not a genuine reality. And the fact that this reality is not accessible to us in the same way as material reality makes it no less real."
— from Attributed
"The very nature of the quantum theory thus forces us to regard the space-time co-ordination and the claim of causality, the union of which characterizes the classical theories, as complementary but exclusive features of the description, symbolizing the idealization of observation and definition respectively."
— from Atomic Theory and the Description of Nature, 1929
All quotes by Niels Bohr (768)
An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.
Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future.
Never talk faster than you think.
How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.
There are some things so serious that you have to laugh at them.
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.
If you are not completely confused by quantum mechanics, you do not understand it.
No, no, no, you're not thinking, you're just being logical.
Every sentence I utter must be understood not as an affirmation, but as a question.
Physics is not about how the world is, it is about what we can say about the world.
It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about nature.
We are all agreed that the only way to make progress is to make mistakes.
The great extension of our experience in recent years has brought to light the insufficiency of our simple mechanical conceptions and has forced us to adopt new and more refined ideas.
The very nature of the quantum theory thus forces us to regard the space-time co-ordination and the claim of causality, the union of which characterizes the classical theories, as complementary but exclusive features of the description, symbolizing the idealization of observation and definition respectively.
The fact that the quantum of action is not zero, but has a finite value, is the reason for the existence of atoms and for the stability of matter.
The problem of the atomic constitution of matter is one which has occupied the minds of natural philosophers for centuries.
The concept of complementarity is meant to characterize the relationship between descriptions which, though mutually exclusive, are jointly necessary for a complete account of the phenomena.
In the great drama of existence, we are ourselves both actors and spectators.
When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as poetry. The physicist, in his endeavor to describe nature, has to resort to the use of analogies, which are not always free from contradictions.
The task of science is both to extend the range of our experience and to reduce it to order.
Contemporaries of Niels Bohr
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Niels Bohr (1885–1962).