Werner Heisenberg

Physics German 1901 – 1976 406 quotes

Formulated the uncertainty principle

Quotes by Werner Heisenberg

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

Attributed

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.

Attributed

The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without a purpose.

Attributed

The universe is a symphony, and we are the musicians.

Attributed

The human heart is a mystery, and we are here to explore it.

Attributed

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

Attributed

We cannot observe the course of nature without disturbing it.

Various writings

The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics starts from the paradox that we describe our experiments in terms of classical physics, but we describe the processes in the atoms in terms of quantum mechanics.

Physics and Philosophy

The atoms or elementary particles themselves are not real; they form a world of potentialities or possibilities rather than one of things or facts.

Physics and Philosophy

The path of the electron in the cloud chamber is not a path at all.

Various discussions

The problems of language here are really serious. We wish to speak in some way about the structure of the atoms. But we cannot speak about atoms in ordinary language.

Physics and Philosophy

The concept of the 'state' of a system in quantum mechanics is quite different from the concept of the 'state' of a system in classical physics.

Various writings

The final result of the atomic theory was to show that the elementary particles are not eternal and indestructible units, but can be transformed into each other.

Physics and Philosophy

The world is not made of things, but of processes.

Attributed, consistent with his philosophy

The mathematical forms of quantum theory are not directly related to the forms of the phenomena, but to the possibilities of the phenomena.

Physics and Philosophy

The idea of a 'final' theory in physics is an illusion.

Various discussions

The quantum theory forces us to give up the idea of a simple objective reality.

Physics and Philosophy

The concept of causality loses its meaning in the quantum domain.

Various writings

The most important new result of nuclear physics was the discovery that the elementary particles are not elementary.

Physics and Beyond

The world of atoms is not a world of things, but a world of relationships.

Attributed, consistent with his philosophy