Quotes About Physics

A plasma is the "fourth state of matter." Solids, liquids, and gases make up the three familiar states of matter, but the most common form of matter in the universe is plasma, a gas of ionized atoms.

Already physicists are doing the basic calculations necessary to make an MRI machine fit into a cell phone.

the entire electromagnetic spectrum— from radar to TV, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, microwaves, and gamma rays— is nothing but Maxwell waves, which in turn are vibrating Faraday force fields.

I canna' change the laws of physics, Captain! –SCOTTY, CHIEF ENGINEER IN STAR TREK

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.

Even if the electrons are separated by many light-years, you instantly know the spin of the second electron as soon as you measure the spin of the first electron. In fact, you know this faster than the speed of light! Because these two electrons are "entangled

Before an observation is made, an object exists in all possible states simultaneously. To determine which state the object is in, we have to make an observation, which "collapses" the wave function, and the object goes into a definite state. The act of observation destroys the wave function, and the object now assumes a definite reality.

Either this guy's a total idiot, or he's the biggest genius to hit physics in years!

In my field, physics, I see that most of us are engage in physics not for the money but for the sheer joy of discovery an innovation.

he was able to estimate the size of the nucleus of the atom. It was one hundred thousand times smaller than the atom itself.

First is Epsilon, which equals 0.007, which is the relative amount of hydrogen that converts to helium via fusion in the big bang.

In other words, the process of observation determines the final state of the electron.

Normally gravity would crush the throat of the wormhole, destroying the astronauts trying to reach the other side. That is one reason that faster-than-light travel through a wormhole is not possible. But the repulsive force of negative energy or negative mass could conceivably keep the throat open sufficiently long to allow astronauts a clear passage. In other words, negative mass or energy is essential for both the Alcubierre drive and the wormhole solution.

Since Einstein derived his famous equation, literally millions of experiments have confirmed his revolutionary ideas.

At rest, we know that its circumference is equal to p times the diameter. Once the merry-go-round is set into motion, however, the outer rim travels faster than the interior and hence, according to relativity, should shrink more than the interior, distorting the shape of the merry-go-round. This means that the circumference has shrunk and is now less than p times the diameter; that is, the surface is no longer flat. Space is curved.

It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off. —WOODY ALLEN

In other words, the reason why the string theory cannot be solved is that twenty-first mathematics has not yet been discovered.

In fact, this spaghettification becomes so severe that even the atoms of your body get pulled apart and eventually disintegrate. To someone watching this remarkable event

One consequence of this formulation is that a physical principle that unites many smaller physical theories must autoomatically unite many seemingly unrelated branches of mathematics. This is precisely what string theory accomplishes. In fact, of all physical theories, string theory unites by far the largest number of branches of mathematics into a single coherent picture. Perhaps one of the by-products of the physicists' quest for unification will be the unification of mathematics as well.

The problem is that while twenty-first-century physics fell accidentally into the twentieth century, twenty-first-century mathematics hasn't been invented yet. It seems that we may have to wait for twenty-first-century mathematics before we can make any progress, or the current generation of physicists must invent twenty-first-century mathematics on their own.

A quantum theory of gravity that unites it with the other forces is the Holy Grail of physics.

Since the speed of light squared (c^2) is an astronomically large number, a small amount of matter can release a vast amount of energy. Locked within the smallest particles of matter is a storehouse of energy, more than 1 million times the energy released in a chemical explosion. Matter, in some sense, can be seen as an almost inexhaustible storehouse of energy; that is, matter is condensed energy.

Commenting on the importance of Maxwell's equations, Einstein wrote that they are the most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton.

The key point is now this: If the wave function of a particle vibrates along this surface, it will inherit this SU(N) symmetry. Thus the mysterious SU(N) symmetries arising in subatomic physics can now be seen as by-products of vibrating hyperspace! In other words ,we now have an explanation for the origin of the mysterious symmetries of wood: They are really the hidden symmetries coming from marble.