The 'path' comes into existence only when we observe it. Werner Heisenberg More Quotes by Werner Heisenberg More Quotes From Werner Heisenberg The discontinuous 'reduction of the wave packets' which cannot be derived from Schroedinger's equation is ... a consequence of the transition from the possible to the actual. Werner Heisenberg wave transition science The basic idea is to shove all fundamental difficulties onto the neutron and to do quantum mechanics in the nucleus. Werner Heisenberg neutrons fundamentals ideas The conception of objective reality ... has thus evaporated ... into the transparent clarity of mathematics that represents no longer the behavior of particles but rather our knowledge of this behavior. Werner Heisenberg science reality knowledge It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. Werner Heisenberg different two thinking Nature allows only experimental situations to occur which can be described within the framework of the formalism of quantum mechanics Werner Heisenberg mechanic quantum science In my paper the fact the XY was not equal to YX was very disagreeable to me. I felt this was the only point of difficulty in the whole scheme...and I was not able to solve it. Werner Heisenberg ontology able paper In general, scientific progress calls for no more than the absorption and elaboration of new ideas- and this is a call most scientists are happy to heed. Werner Heisenberg scientist progress ideas Even for the physicist the description in plain language will be a criterion of the degree of understanding that has been reached. Werner Heisenberg plain-language degrees understanding The exact sciences also start from the assumption that in the end it will always be possible to understand nature, even in every new field of experience, but that we may make no a priori assumptions about the meaning of the word understand. Werner Heisenberg environmental nature may A consistent pursuit of classical physics forces a transformation in the very heart of that physics. Werner Heisenberg transformation physics heart It seems sensible to discard all hope of observing hitherto unobservable quantities, such as the position and period of the electron... Instead it seems more reasonable to try to establish a theoretical quantum mechanics, analogous to classical mechanics, but in which only relations between observable quantities occur. Werner Heisenberg mechanic trying science We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning. Werner Heisenberg What happens depends on our way of observing it or on the fact that we observe it. Werner Heisenberg The German physicists knew at least so much about the manufacture and construction of atomic bombs that it was clear to them that the manufacture of bombs in Germany could not succeed during the war. For this reason, they were spared the moral decision whether they should make an atomic bomb, and they had only worked on the uranium engine. Werner Heisenberg construction succeed decision war It is seen that both matter and radiation possess a remarkable duality of character, as they sometimes exhibit the properties of waves, at other times those of particles. Now, it is obvious that a thing cannot be a form of wave motion and composed of particles at the same time - the two concepts are too different. Werner Heisenberg waves time sometimes character This proving of such and such I found to be almost like cheating. You start somewhere, and then you go into a dark tunnel, and then you come out at another place. You find that you have proved what you wanted to prove, but in the tunnel, you don't see anything. Werner Heisenberg place you dark cheating If the lecture is good, then everything is too smooth. That's the same in music: if the performance is too good, you really don't enjoy it, because it just goes by, and you can never penetrate into the heart of it. Sometimes a poor performance is better for enjoyment, because you can look at those things that were wrong and analyze them. Werner Heisenberg good you music heart Certainly, in the course of time, the splendid things will separate from the hateful. Werner Heisenberg separate will things time The uncertainty principle refers to the degree of indeterminateness in the possible present knowledge of the simultaneous values of various quantities with which the quantum theory deals; it does not restrict, for example, the exactness of a position measurement alone or a velocity measurement alone. Werner Heisenberg alone uncertainty values knowledge Bohr's influence on the physics and the physicists of our century was stronger than that of anyone else, even than that of Albert Einstein. Werner Heisenberg than stronger physics influence