1323 quotes by physicists for you to enjoy

The most obvious characteristic of science is its application: the fact that, as a consequence of science, one has a power to do things. And the effect this power has had need hardly be mentioned. The whole industrial revolution would almost have been impossible without the development of science. Richard P. Feynman

Science Impossible Power Revolution Characteristic Would Fact Mentioned Had Almost Development Most Industrial Industrial Revolution Obvious Without Been Effect Whole Hardly Things Application Consequence Need

The drawing teacher has this problem of communicating how to draw by osmosis and not by instruction, while the physics teacher has the problem of always teaching techniques, rather than the spirit, of how to go about solving physical problems. Richard P. Feynman

Physics has a history of synthesizing many phenomena into a few theories. Richard P. Feynman

History Physics Few Theories Many Phenomena

The situation in the sciences is this: A concept or an idea which cannot be measured or cannot be referred directly to experiment may or may not be useful. It need not exist in a theory. Richard P. Feynman

Situation Experiment Directly Idea Concept Sciences Exist Referred May Cannot Which Useful Measured Theory Need

I was a very shy character, always feeling uncomfortable because everybody was stronger than I, and always afraid I would look like a sissy. Everybody else played baseball; everybody else did all kinds of athletic things. Richard P. Feynman

Character Stronger Feeling Everybody Everybody Else Else Would Athletic Kinds Uncomfortable Like Look Because Always Very Sissy Than Did Afraid Baseball Things Played Shy

The first amazing fact about gravitation is that the ratio of inertial mass to gravitational mass is constant wherever we have checked it. The second amazing thing about gravitation is how weak it is. Richard P. Feynman

Amazing First Weak Constant About Ratio Fact Checked Mass How Amazing Thing Wherever Thing Gravitation Gravitational Second

It's the way I study - to understand something by trying to work it out or, in other words, to understand something by creating it. Not creating it one hundred percent, of course; but taking a hint as to which direction to go but not remembering the details. These you work out for yourself. Richard P. Feynman

Work You Yourself Words Other Hundred Way Out Details Percent Something Direction Remembering Taking Study Course Understand Hint Go Trying In Other Words Which Work Out Creating

I practiced drawing all the time and became very interested in it. If I was at a meeting that wasn't getting anywhere - like the one where Carl Rogers came to Caltech to discuss with us whether Caltech should develop a psychology department - I would draw the other people. Richard P. Feynman

Time People Other Meeting Draw Drawing Would Develop Like Became Practiced Came Very Rogers Discuss Department Getting Where Psychology Whether Anywhere Interested Us Should

In any decision for action, when you have to make up your mind what to do, there is always a 'should' involved, and this cannot be worked out from, 'If I do this, what will happen?' alone. Richard P. Feynman

Alone You Decision Mind Will Action Out Involved Make Make Up Always Up Any Happen Cannot Worked Should Your

The philosophical question before us is, when we make an observation of our track in the past, does the result of our observation become real in the same sense that the final state would be defined if an outside observer were to make the observation? Richard P. Feynman

Result Become Past Before Sense Final State Our Philosophical Defined Would Would-Be Outside Observation Observer Make Track Does Real Were Question Same In The Past Us

Investigating the forces that hold the nuclear particles together was a long task. Richard P. Feynman

Together Long Investigating Particles Forces Task Hold Nuclear

Quarks came in a number of varieties - in fact, at first, only three were needed to explain all the hundreds of particles and the different kinds of quarks - they are called u-type, d-type, s-type. Richard P. Feynman

Three First Different Kinds Hundreds Kinds Only Fact Particles Came Were Different In Fact Explain Number Needed

When I would hear the rabbi tell about some miracle such as a bush whose leaves were shaking but there wasn't any wind, I would try to fit the miracle into the real world and explain it in terms of natural phenomena. Richard P. Feynman

Natural World Try Wind Tell Would Some Miracle About Shaking Terms Real Leaves Were Hear Fit Any The Real World Real World Rabbi Explain Bush Natural Phenomena Whose Phenomena

Once you have a computer that can do a few things - strictly speaking, one that has a certain 'sufficient set' of basic procedures - it can do basically anything any other computer can do. This, loosely, is the basis of the great principle of 'Universality'. Richard P. Feynman

Great You Few Other Strictly Strictly Speaking Once Computer Great Principle Principle Loosely Few Things Any Anything Procedures Certain Speaking Sufficient Basic Things Universality Basically Basis Set

Because atomic behavior is so unlike ordinary experience, it is very difficult to get used to, and it appears peculiar and mysterious to everyone - both to the novice and to the experienced physicist. Richard P. Feynman

Experience Behavior Difficult Everyone Unlike Atomic Both Physicist Mysterious Because Very Get Experienced Ordinary Used Appears Novice Peculiar

With the exception of gravitation and radioactivity, all of the phenomena known to physicists and chemists in 1911 have their ultimate explanation in the laws of quantum electrodynamics. Richard P. Feynman

Laws Physicists Exception Known Quantum Ultimate Explanation Gravitation Phenomena

We do not know where to look, or what to look for, when something is memorized. We do not know what it means, or what change there is in the nervous system, when a fact is learned. This is a very important problem which has not been solved at all. Richard P. Feynman

Change Problem Nervous Important System Solved Nervous System Something Fact Know Look Learned Been Very Where Which Means

When I was a young man, Dirac was my hero. He made a breakthrough, a new method of doing physics. He had the courage to simply guess at the form of an equation, the equation we now call the Dirac equation, and to try to interpret it afterwards. Richard P. Feynman

My idea of an educated person is one who can converse on one subject for more than two minutes. Robert Andrews Millikan

Minutes More Idea Educated Subject Than Person Converse Who Two

Another important aspect of our home was respect for ideas. Robert B. Laughlin

Home Respect Important Our Ideas Another Aspect

I also taught myself how to blow glass using a propane torch from the hardware store and managed to make some elementary chemistry plumbing such as tees and small glass bulbs. Robert B. Laughlin

Myself Chemistry Torch Plumbing Some Small Glass Also Make How Blow Taught Store Using Elementary Hardware Hardware Store

Quotes by Physicists