Famous quotes

Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide

English Italiano Polski עברית Français Português فارسی Español 中文 Русский Deutsch العربية हिन्दी 日本語 Ελληνικά Latina

Max Planck

42 quotes

“Farsighted theologians are now working to mine the eternal metal from the teachings of Jesus and to forge it for all time.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) first seen 1913 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From Planck to Study (2 December 1913), (Autog. I/383, SPK); as quoted in The Dilemmas of an Upright Man : Max Planck As Spokesman for German Science (1986) by J. L. Heilbron, p. 67
“We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up to now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Universe in the Light of Modern Physics (1931)
“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Observer (London, England) (25 January 1931), p. 17
“New scientific ideas never spring from a communal body, however organized, but rather from the head of an individually inspired researcher who struggles with his problems in lonely thought and unites all his thought on one single point which is his whole world for the moment.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address on the 25th anniversary of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gesellschaft (January 1936), as quoted in Surviving the Swastika : Scientific Research in Nazi Germany (1993)
“The energy and entropy of the world have no meaning, because such quantities admit of no accurate definition.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) first seen 1903 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Treatise on Thermodynamics, 1903, Translated by Alexander Ogg
“Experimenters are the shocktroops of science… An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature’s answer. But before an experiment can be performed, it must be planned – the question to nature must be formulated before being posed. Before the result of a measurement can be used, it must be interpreted – Nature’s answer must be understood properly. These two tasks are those of theorists, who find himself always more and more dependent on the tools of abstract mathematics.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers (1949)
“It [science] has as its highest principle and most coveted aim the solution of the problem to condense all natural phenomena which have been observed and are still to be observed into one simple principle, that allows the computation of past and more especially of future processes from present ones. ...Amid the more or less general laws which mark the achievements of physical science during the course of the last centuries, the principle of least action is perhaps that which, as regards form and content, may claim to come nearest to that ideal final aim of theoretical research.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted by Morris Kline, Mathematics and the Physical World (1959) Ch. 25: From Calculus to Cosmic Planning, pp. 441–42.
“Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Advances in Biochemical Psychopharmacology, Vol. 25 (1980), p. 3
“That God existed before there were human beings on Earth, that He holds the entire world, believers and non-believers, in His omnipotent hand for eternity, and that He will remain enthroned on a level inaccessible to human comprehension long after the Earth and everything that is on it has gone to ruins; those who profess this faith and who, inspired by it, in veneration and complete confidence, feel secure from the dangers of life under protection of the Almighty, only those may number themselves among the truly religious.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in God’s Laughter (1992) by Gerhard Staguhn, p. 152
“To believe in science, one must believe in the rationality of the world.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in q:it:Gabriella Greison, Max Planck e la fede nella luce invisibile, avvenire.it, 7 November 2025.
“It is not the possession of truth, but the success which attends the seeking after it, that enriches the seeker and brings happiness to him.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In other words, the fundamental principles and indispensable postulates of every genuinely productive science are not based on pure logic but rather on the metaphysical hypothesis — which no rules of logic can refute — that there exists an outer world which is entirely independent of ourselves. It is only through the immediate dictate of our consciousness that we know that this world exists. And that consciousness may to a certain degree be called a special sense.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But science sets out confidently on the endeavor finally to know the thing in itself, and even though we realize that this ideal goal can never be completely reached, still we struggle on towards it untiringly. And we know that at every step of the way each effort will be richly rewarded.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first and most important quality of all scientific ways of thinking must be the clear distinction between the outer object of observation and the subjective nature of the observer.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: Ye must have faith. It is a quality which the scientist cannot dispense with.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Again and again the imaginary plan on which one attempts to build up that order breaks down and then we must try another. This imaginative vision and faith in the ultimate success are indispensable. The pure rationalist has no place here.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are part of nature and therefore part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Both religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations… To the former He is the foundation, to the latter, the crown of the edifice of every generalized world view.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers as translated by F. Gaynor (1949), p. 184
“Natural science wants man to learn, religion wants him to act.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Religion and natural science are fighting a joint battle in an incessant, never relaxing crusade against scepticism and against dogmatism, against disbelief and against superstition, and the rallying cry in this crusade has always been, and always will be: "On to God!”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I... turned to the main topic of my... work... the study of... thermodynamics.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]he writings of Rudolf Clausius... through their simplicity, clarity, and... preciseness made me... dedicate myself... to the... laws of theory.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was interested in the concept introduced by Clausius, entropy.., (in addition to energy,) one of the most important variables of nature.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Energy remains constant and entropy always grows and can never be reduced... [T]his is the essence of the second law of thermodynamics...the entropy of a system of bodies can... only increase.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the limiting case, [entropy] stays the same. If it increases.., the process is irreversible. If it remains the same.., the process is reversible... [i.e.,] you can let it run backwards.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When occurs, entropy has reached... maximum. If entropy can no longer grow.., no change can occur. This... I applied to physical-chemical and to radiation equilibria.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In physical-chemical equilibria, an American was faster... John Willard Gibbs... Regarding radiation equilibrium... I... built the foundations.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I did not find the entropy of heat radiation... purely theoretically in the beginning. I only found it by reference to experimental measurements... To interpret these laws... found experimentally.., I was guided by the thoughts of Ludwig Boltzmann.., who was able to interpret the entropy of a from... atomic theory, as the logarithm of the probability of the state of the gas.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The application of Boltzmann's procedure to could only succeed if one considered radiation as atomistic.., as a combination of... quanta... of a specific size.., known... by the previous measurements.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At first I did not like this... as it contradicted... classical atomistics, and later... thanks to... numerous colleagues, it was shown to correspond to reality.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It took a number of years until the physics community took notice of my theory... [I]t was misunderstood by many... and... ignored...”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Due to more precise measurements... the values of the... physical constant.., the electric elementary quantum.., were getting closer to the value... I predicted from the radiation measurements.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I generally always turned my interest to questions which possibly lead to a simplification... of .”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[[Quantum mechanics|[Q]uantum theory]] has not reached its full maturity... [W]e still need... generalizations.., abstractions... This is... unsatisfactory, but... also... appropriate and joyful, because we will never reach the final conclusion about nature.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Scientific pursuit will never stop. It would be terrible if it would... If there were no more problems, one would... turn one's head off and... not work any more. Such tranquility is stagnation and... death in a scientific sense.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[[Happiness|[H]appiness]] of the scientist lies not in possessing the truth, but in discovering...”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I also knew the formula that expresses the energy distribution in the normal spectrum. A theoretical interpretation therefore had to be found at any cost, no matter how high. It was clear to me that classical physics could offer no solution to this problem, and would have meant that all energy would eventually transfer from matter to radiation. ...This approach was opened to me by maintaining the two . The two laws, it seems to me, must be upheld under all circumstances. For the rest, I was ready to sacrifice every one of my previous convictions about physical laws. ...[One] finds that the continuous loss of energy into radiation can be prevented by assuming that energy is forced at the outset to remain together in certain quanta. This was purely a formal assumption and I really did not give it much thought except that no matter what the cost, I must bring about a positive result.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) first seen 1894 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to (October 7, 1931) in Archive for the History of Quantum Physics, Microfilm 66, 5, as cited in Thomas S. Kuhn, Black-Body Theory and the Quantum Discontinuity, 1894–1912 (1978) pp. 132, 288. Translation of the …
“Als Physiker, der sein ganzes Leben der nüchternen Wissenschaft, der Erforschung der Materie widmete, bin ich sicher von dem Verdacht frei, für einen Schwarmgeist gehalten zu werden. Und so sage ich nach meinen Erforschungen des Atoms dieses: Es gibt keine Materie an sich. Alle Materie entsteht und besteht nur durch eine Kraft, welche die Atomteilchen in Schwingung bringt und sie zum winzigsten Sonnensystem des Alls zusammenhält. Da es im ganzen Weltall aber weder eine intelligente Kraft noch eine ewige Kraft gibt—es ist der Menschheit nicht gelungen, das heißersehnte Perpetuum mobile zu erfinden—so müssen wir hinter dieser Kraft einen bewußten intelligenten Geist annehmen. Dieser Geist ist der Urgrund aller Materie.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Eine neue wissenschaftliche Wahrheit pflegt sich nicht in der Weise durchzusetzen, daß ihre Gegner überzeugt werden und sich als belehrt erklären, sondern vielmehr dadurch, daß ihre Gegner allmählich aussterben und daß die heranwachsende Generation von vornherein mit der Wahrheit vertraut gemacht ist. … Eine neue große wissenschaftliche Idee pflegt sich nicht in der Weise durchzusetzen, daß ihre Gegner allmählich überzeugt und bekehrt werden — daß aus einem Saulus ein Paulus wird, ist eine große Seltenheit —, sondern vielmehr in der Weise, dass die Gegner allmählich aussterben und daß die heranwachsende Generation von vornherein mit der Idee vertraut gemacht wird. Auch hier heißt es wieder: Wer die Jugend hat, der hat die Zukunft.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Wissenschaftliche Selbstbiographie. Mit einem Bildnis und der von Max von Laue gehaltenen Traueransprache. Johann Ambrosius Barth Verlag (Leipzig 1948), p. 22, in Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, (1949), as tr…
“Under these conditions it is no wonder, that the movement of atheists, which declares religion to be just a deliberate illusion, invented by power-seeking priests, and which has for the pious belief in a higher Power nothing but words of mockery, eagerly makes use of progressive scientific knowledge and in a presumed unity with it, expands in an ever faster pace its disintegrating action on all nations of the earth and on all social levels. I do not need to explain in any more detail that after its victory not only all the most precious treasures of our culture would vanish, but — which is even worse — also any prospects at a better future.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Religion und Naturwissenschaft (1958)
“Long and tedious reflection cannot enable us to shape our decisions and attitudes properly; only that definite and clear instruction which we gain can form a direct inner link to God. This instruction alone is able to give us the inner firmness and lasting peace of mind which must be regarded as the highest boon in life. And if we ascribe to God, in addition to His omnipotence and omniscience, also the attributes of goodness and love, recourse to Him produces an increased feeling of safety and happiness in the human being thirsting for solace. Against this conception not even the slightest objection can be raised from the point of natural science, for as we pointed it out before, questions of ethics are entirely outside of its realm.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No matter where and how far we look, nowhere do we find a contradiction between religion and natural science. On the contrary, we find a complete concordance in the very points of decisive importance. Religion and natural science do not exclude each other, as many contemporaries of ours would believe or fear. They mutually supplement and condition each other. The most immediate proof of the compatibility of religion and natural science, even under the most thorough critical scrutiny, is the historical fact that the very greatest natural scientists of all times—men such as Kepler, Newton, Leibniz—were permeated by a most profound religious attitude.”
Max Planck (1858–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source