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)
The greatest wisdom is to know that we are all interconnected and interdependent, a vast cosmic family united by the threads of existence.
The world is not a collection of separate individuals, but a symphony of interconnected souls, all playing their unique part in the grand cosmic dance of creation and evolution.
Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
An expert is a person who avoids small errors on the way to the grand fallacy.
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may be another profound truth.
We are all agreed that your theory is crazy. The question which divides us is whether it is crazy enough to have a chance of being correct.
If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet.
Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical.
The task is, not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.
It is a great comfort to the experimenter to know that many theories have been discarded.
There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract physical description.
In the great drama of existence we are audience as well as actors.
The life of a physicist is a never-ending search for truth.
Nature is not to be conquered, but to be understood.
When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry.
The highest wisdom is founded not on reason alone, not on those worldly sciences of physics, chemistry, physiology, etc., but on direct spiritual perception.
A person who is not horrified when he first dives into quantum theory will never understand it.
The more we know, the more we realize how much we do not know.
Contemporaries of Niels Bohr
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Niels Bohr (1885–1962).