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)
Quantum tunneling explains the impossible.
Life's humor is in its unpredictability.
The grand unified theory awaits.
Balance between work and joy.
The elegance of equations.
Truth endures all trials.
String theory vibrates with possibility.
A witty remark on relativity: Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.
The meaning of existence is to explore.
The canvas of the universe is vast.
Scientific method is rigorous art.
The final words: I have done my share; it is time to go.
Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of nature and therefore a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.
The highest aim of physics is to find the one equation from which all others can be deduced.
Religion and natural science are fighting a joint battle in an incessant, never-ending crusade against skepticism and against dogmatism, against unbelief and superstition, and the rallying cry in this crusade has always been, and will always be, 'On to God!'
The pioneer scientist must have a vivid intuitive imagination, for new ideas are not generated by deduction, but by artistically creative imagination.
The quantum hypothesis will never be able to be removed from the world.
Science enhances the wonder of discovery, and it is a wonderful thing to be able to discover.
The constant of action, h, has a definite value, and it is a universal constant.
The highest goal of all science is to unify the various phenomena of nature under a single principle.
Contemporaries of Max Planck
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Max Planck (1858–1947).