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 concept of a 'thing' in the atomic world is problematic.
The atomic theory has forced us to reconsider the very meaning of 'knowledge'.
The progress of science is a continuous process of questioning and revising.
The atomic world is a world of relationships, not isolated entities.
The concept of 'reality' in the atomic world is not the same as in the macroscopic world.
The atomic theory has shown us the limits of our intuition.
You are not thinking, you are merely being logical.
The great thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.
The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy is the weapon of openness.
The very fact that we can talk about atoms shows that we are not atoms.
Your theory is crazy, but it's not crazy enough to be true.
It is not the task of science to make things intelligible, but to make them understandable.
The more I think about the quantum theory, the more I am puzzled.
One must be clear that the quantum mechanical description is a description of our knowledge of the system, not of the system itself.
The atom is a very complicated thing.
The opposite of a trivial truth is false, but the opposite of a profound truth is also true.
The purpose of science is not to find out how nature is, but what we can say about nature.
If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics.
There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum physical description.
A physicist is just an atom's way of looking at itself.
Contemporaries of Niels Bohr
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Niels Bohr (1885–1962).