Max Planck
Originated quantum theory with energy quanta
Most quoted
"The quantum theory is a theory of the elementary quanta of the cosmos and the chaos, the light and the darkness, the good and the evil, the life and the death, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the past, the present, and the future, the here and the now, the everywhere and the always, the visible and the invisible, the known and the unknown, the finite and the infinite, the possible and the impossible, the necessary and the contingent, the universal and the particular, the general and the specific, the abstract and the concrete, the simple and the complex, the whole and the part, the one and the many, the same and the different, the identity and the difference, the unity and the multiplicity, the order and the chaos, the harmony and the discord, all things and nothing, being and non-being, existence and non-existence, reality and unreality, truth and falsehood, knowledge and ignorance, wisdom and folly, beauty and ugliness, good and evil, morality and immorality, ethics and unethics, religion and irreligion, spirituality and materialism, God and atheism, the universe and the void."
— from The Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory, 1920
"The quantum theory is a theory of the elementary quanta of the cosmos and the chaos, the light and the darkness, the good and the evil, the life and the death, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the past, the present, and the future, the here and the now, the everywhere and the always, the visible and the invisible, the known and the unknown, the finite and the infinite, the possible and the impossible, the necessary and the contingent, the universal and the particular, the general and the specific, the abstract and the concrete, the simple and the complex, the whole and the part, the one and the many, the same and the different, the identity and the difference, the unity and the multiplicity, the order and the chaos, the harmony and the discord."
— from The Origin and Development of the Quantum Theory, 1920
"My original decision to devote myself to science was a direct result of the discovery which has never ceased to fill me with enthusiasm since my early youth - the comprehension of the far from obvious fact that the laws of human reasoning coincide with the laws governing the sequences of the impressions we receive from the world about us; that, therefore, pure reasoning can enable man to gain an insight into the mechanism of the latter. In that sense, it is obvious that science cannot be neutral, and cannot be isolated from life."
— from Scientific Autobiography, 1949
All quotes by Max Planck (661)
Faith in the possibility of science, in the power of rational thinking, is the source of every creative act.
The scientist is free to ask any question he likes, but he must be prepared for any answer.
In science, we must be bold in our hypotheses and rigorous in our tests.
The discovery of the quantum theory was a revolution in physics.
Life is a journey through the unknown, guided by reason and intuition.
The beauty of mathematics lies in its universality.
We must not confuse the map with the territory.
The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
Science is the effort to understand the world without bias.
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.
Persistence is the key to scientific success.
The laws of nature are written in the language of mathematics.
To doubt is the beginning of wisdom.
The quantum world is strange, but it is real.
Humanity's greatest achievement is the pursuit of knowledge.
In the face of uncertainty, science provides clarity.
The mind is the architect of reality.
Revolutions in science come from unexpected places.
The true scientist is humble before nature.
Energy is eternal delight.
Contemporaries of Max Planck
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Max Planck (1858–1947).