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 world is not as we see it, but as we are.
The atom is a symbol, not a reality.
We must be clear that when it comes to atoms, language can be used only as poetry.
The aim of science is not to find the ultimate truth, but to find a satisfactory description of the world.
The quantum world is not a world of things, but a world of relations.
The problem is not to understand the quantum world, but to understand ourselves in relation to it.
The deepest truths are those which contain contradictions.
We are all actors in the great drama of existence.
The world is not made of things, but of processes.
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
The most important thing is not to stop questioning.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.
The only source of knowledge is experience.
The great extension of our experience in atomic physics has, however, not only shown the futility of any attempt to visualize the atomic world in the ordinary sense, but it has also revealed the inadequacy of the ordinary use of language for a description of atomic phenomena.
The very act of observation changes the observed phenomenon.
Physics is not about how the world is, it's about what we can say about the world.
The fact that we are dealing with a new situation in physics, where the old concepts are no longer adequate, is the very essence of the problem.
The complementary description is not a compromise but a logical necessity.
Every sentence I utter must be understood not as an assertion but as a question.
Contemporaries of Niels Bohr
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Niels Bohr (1885–1962).