Top 100 Quotes About Quantum Theory
#1. It is often stated that of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory. In fact, some say that the only thing that quantum theory has going for it is that it is unquestionably correct.
Michio Kaku
#2. You have nothing to do but mention the quantum theory, and people will take your voice for the voice of science, and belive anything.
George Bernard Shaw
#3. The quantum theory is based on the idea that there is a probability that all possible events, no matter how fantastic or silly, might occur.
Michio Kaku
#4. On quantum theory I use up more brain grease (rough translation of German idiom) than on relativity.
Albert Einstein
#5. A person who wasn't outraged on first hearing about quantum theory didn't understand what had been said.
Niels Bohr
#6. All integral laws of spectral lines and of atomic theory spring originally from the quantum theory. It is the mysterious organon on which Nature plays her music of the spectra, and according to the rhythm of which she regulates the structure of the atoms and nuclei.
Arnold Sommerfeld
#7. Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.
Niels Bohr
#8. In Einstein's theory of relativity the observer is a man who sets out in quest of truth armed with a measuring-rod. In quantum theory he sets out with a sieve.
Arthur Eddington
#9. By 2100, our destiny is to become like the gods we once worshipped and feared. But our tools will not be magic wands and potions but the science of computers, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and most of all, the quantum theory.
Michio Kaku
#10. You know that, according to quantum theory, if two particles collide with enough energy you can, in principle, with an infinitesimal probability, produce two grand pianos.
Isidor Isaac Rabi
#11. The girl I find who wants to talk about quantum theory in a bar is the one I want to marry.
Brandon Boyd
#12. The mathematical framework of quantum theory has passed countless successful tests and is now universally accepted as a consistent and accurate description of all atomic phenomena.
Erwin Schrodinger
#13. The quantum theory of parallel universes is not the problem, it is the solution. It is not some troublesome, optional interpretation emerging from arcane theoretical considerations. It is the explanation, the only one that is tenable, of a remarkable and counter-intuitive reality.
David Deutsch
#14. No. I do not think that. For the new principle that is involved is a genuinely physical one: it is, in my opinion, nothing else than the principle of quantum theory over again.
Erwin Schrodinger
#15. There's far more truth in the Book of Genesis than in the quantum theory.
Malcolm Muggeridge
#16. The more success the quantum theory has, the sillier it looks. How nonphysicists would scoff if they were able to follow the odd course of developments!
Albert Einstein
#17. And anyone who thinks they can talk about quantum theory without feeling dizzy hasn't yet understood the first thing about it.
Niels Bohr
#18. God runs electromagnetics by wave theory on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the Devil runs them by quantum theory on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
William Lawrence Bragg
#19. Classical physics has been superseded by quantum theory: quantum theory is verified by experiments. Experiments must be described in terms of classical physics.
Carl Friedrich Von Weizsacker
#20. For the most part, quantum theory has been of little practical value in my life.
Jenny Diski
#21. Quantum theory also tells us that the world is not simply objective; somehow it's something more subtle than that. In some sense it is veiled from us, but it has a structure that we can understand.
John Polkinghorne
#22. Copenhagen interpretation Niels Bohr's combination of instrumentalism, anthropocentrism and studied ambiguity, used to avoid understanding quantum theory as being about reality.
David Deutsch
#23. When you look at a vacuum in a quantum theory of fields, it isn't exactly nothing.
Peter Higgs
#24. The Theory of Relativity confers an absolute meaning on a magnitude which in classical theory has only a relative significance: the velocity of light. The velocity of light is to the Theory of Relativity as the elementary quantum of action is to the Quantum Theory: it is its absolute core.
Max Planck
#25. It is true that in quantum theory we cannot rely on strict causality. But by repeating the experiments many times, we can finally derive from the observations statistical distributions, and by repeating such series of experiments, we can arrive at objective statements concerning these distributions.
Werner Heisenberg
#26. Without the possibility of error and real indeterminacy implied by the quantum theory, human liberty is meaningless.
Heinz R. Pagels
#27. I read a lot of science books - I love cosmology, quantum theory, particle physics. So my idea of a great read would probably put you directly into a coma.
Augusten Burroughs
#28. Many of us have no grasp of quantum theory, or Einstein's theories of special and general relativity, but this does not in itself lead us to oppose these theories! Darwinism, unlike 'Einsteinism', seems to be regarded as fair game for critics with any degree of ignorance.
Richard Dawkins
#29. Three of the four forces (excluding gravity) are therefore united by quantum theory, giving us unification without geometry, which appears to contradict the theme of this book and everything we have considered so far.
Michio Kaku
#30. If we are going t stick to this damned quantum-jumping, then I regret that I ever had anything to do with quantum theory.
Erwin Schrodinger
#31. Bell's theorem ... proves that quantum theory requires connections that appear to resemble telepathic communication.
Gary Zukav
#32. The great revelation of the quantum theory was that features of discreteness were discovered in the Book of Nature, in a context in which anything other than continuity seemed to be absurd according to the views held until then.
Erwin Schrodinger
#33. In Darwin's theory, you just have to substitute 'mutations' for his 'slight accidental variations' (just as quantum theory substitutes 'quantum jump' for 'continuous transfer of energy'). In all other respects little change was necessary in Darwin's theory ...
Erwin Schrodinger
#34. We're going to need a definitive quantum theory of gravity, which is part of a grand unified theory - it's the main missing piece.
Kip Thorne
#35. Seriousness of mind was a prerequisite for understanding Newtonian physics. I am not convinced it is not a handicap in understanding quantum theory.
Connie Willis
#36. Quantum theory provides us with a striking illustration of the fact that we can fully understand a connection though we can only speak of it in images and parables.
Werner Heisenberg
#37. If all this damned quantum jumping were really here to stay, I should be sorry, I should be sorry I ever got involved with quantum theory.
Erwin Schrodinger
#38. There certainly is a tension between the relativity of simultaneity and non-locality in quantum theory, but it's not strong enough to add up to a falsification of either side by itself.
Lee Smolin
#39. David Deutsch, in The Fabric of Reality, embraces the 'many worlds' interpretation of quantum theory,
Richard Dawkins
#40. But how is one to make a scientist understand that there is something unalterably deranged about differential calculus, quantum theory, or the obscene and so inanely liturgical ordeals of the precession of the equinoxes.
Antonin Artaud
#41. Einstein was arguing against quantum theory just as irrationally as his opponents had argued against relativity theory. Einstein remained adamant (he remained adamant to the end of his life where quantum theory was concerned).
Richard Rhodes
#42. I did my masters in elementary particles. But the foundations of elementary particles is quantum theory and there were too many conceptual problems around quantum theory that I couldn't live with. So I decided I was going to work on the foundations of quantum theory. That's what I did my Ph.D on.
Vandana Shiva
#43. I cannot seriously believe in it [quantum theory] because the theory cannot be reconciled with the idea that physics should represent a reality in time and space, free from spooky actions at a distance [spukhafte Fernwirkungen].
Albert Einstein
#44. Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.
Niels Bohr
#45. Quantum theory tells us, Mr. Thomas, that every point in the universe is intimately connected to every other point, regardless of apparent distance. In some mysterious way, any point on a planet in a distant galaxy is as close to me as you are.
Dean Koontz
#46. Quantum mechanics, that brilliantly successful flagship theory of modern science, is deeply mysterious and hard to understand. Eastern mystics have always been deeply mysterious and hard to understand. Therefore, Eastern mystics must have been talking about quantum theory all along.
Richard Dawkins
#47. I'm really fascinated by the parallels between quantum theory and the teachings of some of these ancient texts. So many of the things that quantum physicists are talking about today, like nonlocality and the observer effect, are things the yogis have been saying for thousands of years.
Beryl Bender Birch
#48. The revolution which began with the creation of quantum theory and relativity theory can only be finished with their unification into a single theory that can give us a single, comprehensive picture of nature.
Lee Smolin
#49. It would probably be wiser to nail up over the door of the new quantum theory a notice, 'Structural alterations in progress - No admittance except on business', and particularly to warn the doorkeeper to keep out prying philosophers.
Arthur Stanley Eddington
#50. My training in science is actually one that is very critical of mechanistic science. I was trained in quantum theory which emerged at the turn of the last century. We are a whole century behind in absorbing the leaps that quantum theory made for the human mind.
Vandana Shiva
#51. If [quantum theory] is correct, it signifies the end of physics as a science.
Albert Einstein
#52. Quantum theory was split up into dialects. Different people describe the same experiences in remarkably different languages. This is confusing even to physicists.
David Finkelstein
#53. Niels Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of theorists into thinking that the job (interpreting quantum theory) was done 50 years ago.
Murray Gell-Mann
#54. There was quantum mechanics, string theory, and then there was the most mind-bending frontier of the natural world, women.
Marisha Pessl
#55. Quantum field theory was originally developed for the treatment of electrodynamics, immediately after the completion of quantum mechanics and the discovery of the Dirac equation.
David Gross
#56. Einstein comes along and says, space and time can warp and curve, that's what gravity is. Now string theory comes along and says, yes, gravity, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism - all together in one package, but only if the universe has more dimensions than the ones that we see.
Brian Greene
#57. Every string theory that's been written down says the speed of light is universal. But other ideas about quantum gravity predict the speed of light has actually increased.
Lee Smolin
#58. A university student attending lectures on general relativity i the morning and others on quantum mechanics in the afternoon might be forgiven for thinking that his professors are fools, or have neglected to communicate with each other for at least a century.
Carlo Rovelli
#59. Physical reality does not require that we be pleased with its mechanism; we must see the implications of a theory for what they are and not for what we would like them to be.
Kevin Michel
#60. Quantum physics is no longer an abstract theory for specialists. We must now absolutely include it in our education and also in our culture.
Claude Cohen-Tannoudji
#61. Quantum field theory, which was born just fifty years ago from the marriage of quantum mechanics with relativity, is a beautiful but not very robust child.
Steven Weinberg
#62. At that moment it would have been easier for me to spontaneously grasp quantum string theory
Augusten Burroughs
#64. Sometimes, we do not need a lot of words to convey meaning. For example, imagine a lovely sunset.
Richard Gentle
#65. You are all wave particles when I close my eyes. I am no more entranced by your entanglement than a butterfly is to a bee.
Solange Nicole
#66. Fine Structure Constant: Fundamental numerical constant of atomic physics and quantum electrodynamics, defined as the square of the charge of the electron divided by the product of Planck's constant and the speed of light.
Steven Weinberg
#67. According to quantum field theory, fields alone are real. They are the substance of the universe and not 'matter'. Matter is simply the momentary manifestation of interacting fields which, intangible and insubstantial as they are, are the only real things in the universe.
Gary Zukav
#68. quantum physics, in which the simple act of observation seemed to affect the physical world, and in which changes performed on one physical system could have an immediate effect on another quite unlinked system (the theory of nonlocality),
George Pendle
#69. I'm very moved by chaos theory, and that sense of energy. That quantum physics. We don't really, in Hindu tradition, have a father figure of a God. It's about cosmic energy, a little spark of which is inside every individual as the soul.
Bharati Mukherjee
#70. I take the view that we all have permission to be a little baffled by quantum information science and algorithmic information theory.
James Gleick
#71. A theory of reality must not only explain reality, but also knowledge about that reality because knowing reality is part of reality.
Ashish Dalela
#72. I count Maxwell and Einstein, Eddington and Dirac, among "real" mathematicians. The great modern achievements of applied mathematics have been in relativity and quantum mechanics, and these subjects are at present at any rate, almost as "useless" as the theory of numbers.
G.H. Hardy
#73. Einstein was searching for String Theory. It not only reconciles General Relativity to Quantum Mechanics, but it reconciles Science and the Bible as well.
Roy H. Williams
#74. If quantum communication and quantum computation are to flourish, a new information theory will have to be developed.
Hans Christian Von Baeyer
#75. Like the very quantum particles we study, we must be comfortable allowing our view of the world to exist in superposition.
Kevin Michel
#76. We are a manifestation that we perpetuate through space-time. Death is the ceasing of the observation of it whether by direct or indirect influence.
Solange Nicole
#77. I have a theory which I suspect is rather immoral,' Smiley went on, more lightly. 'Each of us has only a quantum of compassion. That if we lavish our concern on every stray cat, we never get to the centre of things.
John Le Carre
#78. There was a long history of speculation that in quantum gravity, unlike Einstein's classical theory, it might be possible for the topology of spacetime to change.
Edward Witten
#79. In fact, the mere act of opening the box will determine the state of the
cat, although in this case there were three determinate states the cat
could be in: these being Alive, Dead, and Bloody Furious.
Terry Pratchett
#80. The most important single thing about string theory is that it's a highly mathematical theory, and the mathematics holds together in a very tight and consistent way. It contains in its basic structure both quantum mechanics and the theory of gravity. That's big news.
Leonard Susskind
#81. There's a branch of math called the foundations of math. It's kind of like quantum mechanics. It's about how this very complex theory of math can be built up from very basic parts.
Tristan Perich
#82. Ultimately, my Ph.D. is in mathematical physics, focusing on quantum field theory and curved space-time, and I worked with Stephen Hawking.
Nathan Myhrvold
#83. Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that this is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not bring us any closer to the secrets of the "Old One." I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice.
Albert Einstein
#84. According to string theory in quantum mechanics the core of energy and matter on a subatomic level is a vibrating, string-like filament that is identical in all energy and matter.
Russell Anthony Gibbs
#85. For bedtime reading, I usually curl up with a good monograph on quantum physics or string theory, my specialty. But since I was a child, I have been fascinated by science fiction. My all-time favorite is 'The Foundation Trilogy,' by Isaac Asimov.
Michio Kaku
#86. General theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. They are the great intellectual achievements of the first half of this century.
Stephen Hawking
#87. My experience has been that times always ends. In theory, you are right, the quantum physicists are right, the religious and romantics are right. Time without end. In practice we both wear a watch.
Jeanette Winterson
#88. The problem is that replacement of Quantum Mechanics by Quantum Field Theory is still very demanding.
Martin Fleischmann
#89. Where misunderstanding dwells, misuse will not be far behind. No theory in the history of science has been more misused and abused by cranks and charlatans - and misunderstood by people struggling in good faith with difficult ideas - than quantum mechanics.
Sean Carroll
#90. When I was at Berkeley, the framework of quantum field theory could calculate the dynamics of electromagnetism. It could roughly describe the motion of the weak nuclear force, radiation. But it hit a brick wall with the strong interaction, the binding force.
David Gross
#91. One can still say that quantum mechanics is the key to understanding magnetism. When one enters the first room with this key there are unexpected rooms beyond, but it is always the master key that unlocks each door.
John H. Van Vleck
#92. I had set out to disprove quantum field theory - and the opposite occurred! I was shocked.
David Gross
#93. All perception is the result of electrical impulses in the brain - the world of the individual is tantamount to a highly advanced computer running and analyzing programs in its working memory.
Kevin Michel
#94. I wouldn't have thought that a wrong theory should lead us to understand better the ordinary quantum field theories or to have new insights about the quantum states of black holes.
Edward Witten
#95. Because the theory of quantum mechanics could explain all of chemistry and the various properties of substances, it was a tremendous success. But still there was the problem of the interaction of light and matter.
Richard P. Feynman
#96. Singh in computational biology held forth on her theory of the protomolecule as a Guzman-style quantum computer one night over dinner, and when Kibushi used the information without citing her, she snuck into the showers at the gymnasium and beat him to death with a ceramic workbench cap.
James S.A. Corey
#97. The birth of science as we know it arguably began with Isaac Newton's formulation of the laws of gravitation and motion. It is no exaggeration to say that physics was reborn in the early 20th-century with the twin revolutions of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity.
Paul Davies
#98. Quantum field theory arose out of our need to describe the ephemeral nature of life.
Anthony Zee
#99. The quantum hologram is a mechanism to explain this concept of the ancients of the Akashic Records. It also explains Rupert Sheldrake's work among animals [his theory of morphic fields and morphic resonance, leading to a vision of a living, developing universe with its own inherent memory].
Edgar Mitchell
#100. A mathematician says that an electromagnetic wave travels from Andromeda to your eye and that it also extends from Andromeda to your eye.
Bill Gaede
