Physics and Philosophy (1958)
Context: But the resemblance of the modern views to those of Plato and the Pythagoreans can be carried somewhat further. The elementary particles in Plato's Timaeus are finally not substance but mathematical forms. "All things are numbers" is a sentence attributed to Pythagoras. The only mathematical forms available at that time were such geometric forms as the regular solids or the triangles which form their surface. In modern quantum theory there can be no doubt that the elementary particles will finally also be mathematical forms but of a much more complicated nature.
“The law of causality is no longer applied in quantum theory and the law of conservation of matter is no longer true for the elementary particles.”
Physics and Philosophy (1958)
Context: The law of causality is no longer applied in quantum theory and the law of conservation of matter is no longer true for the elementary particles. Obviously Kant could not have foreseen the new discoveries, but since he was convinced that his concepts would be "the basis of any future metaphysics that can be called science" it is interesting to see where his arguments have been wrong.
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Werner Heisenberg 42
German theoretical physicist 1901–1976Related quotes
Physics and Philosophy (1958)
Context: The equation of motion holds at all times, it is in this sense eternal, whereas the geometrical forms, like the orbits, are changing. Therefore, the mathematical forms that represent the elementary particles will be solutions of some eternal law of motion for matter. Actually this is a problem which has not yet been solved.<!-- p. 72
J. R. Partington, Higher Mathematics for Chemical Students (1911)
Patheos, Orwellian Legislative Duplicity on HB 1485 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/reasonadvocates/2017/05/05/orwellian-legislative-duplicity-hb-1485/ (May 5, 2017)
Quantum Physics: From Basic Concepts to Applications. Honeywell-Nobel Laureate Lecture Series at the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (September 15, 2008), at 3:22 http://www.honeywellscience.com/virtual_lab/default.sps?categoryname=Claude%20Cohen-Tannoudji&videoid=.
Source: Quantum Chromatodynamics (3rd ed., 2007), Ch. 1 : The Introduction of Quarks
“As soon as laws are necessary for men, they are no longer fit for freedom.”
As quoted in Short Sayings of Great Men: With Historical and Explanatory Notes (1882) by Samuel Arthur Bent, p. 454
“The Law continues to exist and to function. But it no longer exists for me.”
Source: Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (1535), Chapter 2, Verse 19