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 progress of science is the increase of the area of our ignorance.
You can never plan the future by the past.
The atom is not a thing.
The quantum postulate implies that any observation of atomic phenomena will involve an interaction with the agency of observation not to be neglected.
In our description of nature the purpose is not to disclose the real essence of the phenomena but only to track down, so far as it is possible, relations between the manifold aspects of our experience.
Physics is to be regarded not so much as the study of something a priori given, but rather as the development of methods of ordering and surveying human experience.
The unity of knowledge is something we have to postulate, because without it there could be no science.
The notion of complementarity is meant to symbolize a fundamental limitation in our capacity for visualizing the physical world.
It is the hallmark of any deep truth that its negation is also a deep truth.
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.
The existence of life must be considered as an elementary fact that cannot be explained, but must be taken as a starting point in biology.
The success of mathematical physics led to the view that the basis of all natural sciences could be found in mechanics.
The opposite of a trivial truth is false. The opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.
No, no, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical.
The great extension of our knowledge of the atomic phenomena has given us a quite new insight into the nature of physical explanation.
The very nature of the quantum theory forces us to regard the description of atomic phenomena as a complementary mode of expression.
We must be clear that, when it comes to atoms, language can be used only as poetry.
The fact that we are dealing with a situation where the interaction between the object and the measuring instrument cannot be neglected, and where the measuring instrument itself is subject to the laws of quantum mechanics, leads to a fundamental limitation on the possibility of a classical description.
The idea of a definite state of an atomic system, independent of the measuring process, is an idealization which is not justified by the facts.
Physics is to be regarded not so much as the study of something that exists, but rather as the study of what we can say about something.
Contemporaries of Niels Bohr
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Niels Bohr (1885–1962).