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)
What is real is not what we can see, but what we can deduce from what we see.
The quantum theory has given us a new insight into the nature of reality.
Physical science, in its search for the ultimate truth, can never be satisfied with anything less than a complete and unified picture of the universe.
The world of sense is a world of appearances, but behind it lies a world of reality.
The scientist needs a vivid imagination, but he must also be a rigorous logician.
The progress of science is a continuous process of approximation to the truth.
The most important task of science is to free man from the bondage of superstition and ignorance.
The fundamental problem of physics is to understand the nature of matter and energy.
The laws of nature are not arbitrary, but are based on a deeper rationality.
The scientific method is the only reliable path to knowledge.
The ultimate goal of science is to understand the universe as a whole.
The scientist must be humble in the face of nature, but bold in his pursuit of truth.
The quantum theory has revolutionized our understanding of the physical world.
The world is not a chaos, but an ordered cosmos.
The task of science is to discover the laws that govern the universe.
The human mind is capable of understanding the deepest mysteries of nature.
The pursuit of knowledge is an endless journey.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
The development of science is a continuous process of overcoming difficulties.
The scientist must be prepared to question everything, even his own most cherished beliefs.
Contemporaries of Max Planck
Other Physicss born within 50 years of Max Planck (1858–1947).