Quote Definition and 91 Threads

I'm reading an early paper of Maxwell's in which he defines c in a peculiar way that I hadn't heard before: "the number of electrostatic units in one electromagnetic unit of electricity" Could someone help me get a sense of what he means by this? I'm familiar with the definition of c = 1 /...

Accidental double post

"The Higgs mechanism in the standard model successfully predicts the mass of the W±, and Z weak gauge bosons," How does the higgs mechanism predict the masses of the W & Z? The Higgs has no specific coupling value to any particle and it is the coupling value that gives the mass value Is...

This quote that i found in the book Super Force by Paul Davies, once read, litterally summed up all the thoughts that I have had since I could remember about how the universe works. tell me if you also think its true "An intelligence knowing, at any given instant of time, all forces acting in...

I understand Olbers' Paradox and its resolution, however such phrases as this - "If the universe extends infinitely, then eventually if we look out into the night sky, we should be able to see a star in any direction, even if the star is really far away" - which can be found...

Subject: A Baffling Quote from Einstein, badly requiring explanation All sources I've consulted indicate that Einstein reconceived gravity in General Relativity by discarding the prevailing, intuitive, Newtonian view of it as a 'force' accelerating objects, and daringly envisioned it purely...

Hi everyone, I've always thought that the idea of a relationship between consciousness and wave function collapse (or any other quantum phenomenon) was just a common laymans misunderstanding. But then I read this quote: "The doctrine that the world is made up of objects whose existence...

I found the following quote of einstein on http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein#Einstein.27s_God_.281997.29 ..The fact that man produces a concept "I" besides the totality of his mental and emotional experiences or perceptions does not prove that there must be any specific existence...

"Think of what you're saying, you can get it wrong and still think that it's all right." from some song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. anyway, this got me thinking about how many times I've though I've really understood something, or was absolutely sure that I was correct about...

No matter how close you ever think you are, there is always a infinite distance between. Why is it wrong? Why is it right? I have no experience in physics, but I feel you guys could answer better then anyone else. Thanks

Hi all, I'm trying to find the exact quote that I remember reading about a couple years ago. It was by some physicist who went in front of Congress (can't remember if it was the House or senate) and was asked why Congress should spend $200 million (I may be incorrect on the figure) to build a...

I'm not sure if this post belongs in this forum; feel free to move it. In his book, 'Quantum field theory in a nutshell', Anthony Zee writes: "Quantum field theory arose out of our need to describe the ephemeral nature of life." What does he mean by this?

So, someone said the random quote "We dropped him faster than a magnet". So my question is, if this proposed magnet were attracted to the ground, could it go faster than terminal velocity? Or is terminal velocity the fastest something can fall?

"You know, the most amazing thing happened to me tonight. I was coming here, on the way to the lecture, and I came in through the parking lot. And you won't believe what happened. I saw a car with the license plate ARW 357. Can you imagine? Of all the millions of license plates in the state...

I recently looked at a paper (a pdf of a scan of a paper from the 1960's, or there abouts) that discussed the development of probability. The paper began with a quote attributed to Bertrand Russell (in 1926-1927) that went along the lines "Probability is amongst the most important science, not...

I'll reserve my opinion, but I'd appreciate yours.

there is this great line from a song off the matrix sound track called 'ultrasonic sound' by dj hive. "There are doorways I haven't opened, and windows I've yet to look through. going forward may not be the answer. maybe i should go back". i think its a great line and I'm trying to find where it...

I found the following in Wikipedia on the page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plank_length: Question: what is the mechanism through which the interaction of a photon with an object could (even in principle) cause the object to become a "minuscule black hole"? I understand that this is a...

-An 'Anonymous Coward' at /. :smile::smile: Oh, BTW, what happened to the choice of emoticons for the thread title? :rolleyes: (Just noticed :) )

Hi, It is generally not my style to ask for this type of help... But I am now summarizing my PhD thesis, and I feel that I desperately need a quote by a famous scientist who say something like that: The whole solid state physics is based on throwing photons on matter and studies of humps...

What about a Savant? They don't understand themselves how they get the "right" answer.

I thought it might be interesting to see how many counter quotes can be found to respond to a given quote. For example, one that hit me some time ago was that of reasonable people. Quote: "The reasonable man adapts to the world around him, while the unreasonable person tries to change...

i have 2 questions: 1. what is the difference between astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology? 2. what did Alan Guth mean when he said, "The universe is the ultimate free lunch"?

I have found a quote I've been looking for. It's the lower one in my signature right now: "Science is everything we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else." However I don't know just who said it. Most web sources say David Knuth, but some say Donald Knuth...

Newsweek had an article earlier this month (10 November) about a conference on Science and Religion attended by many top scientists including Nobel laureate physicist Steven Weinberg. Weinberg said something that was both poignant and apt. I never heard anyone use this figure of speech...

A new member of PF (July 2006) called my attention to this quote from Wittgenstein, which I pass along in case anyone wants to comment or expand on it ===quote=== There are problems I never get anywhere near, which do not lie in my path or are not part of my world. Problems of the...

I am seeking a quote, from the Old Testament, that depicts God as an opressive being. If someone can direct me to one, I would greatly appreciate it.

I recall there being several past topics where we debated whether evolution is still ongoing for humans. I just found & wanted to share http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/or_maybe_its_an_example_of_absurdist_british_humor/" ...

Whats your favorite quote?

"Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night, God said, let Newton be! and all was light." -Alexander Pope.

Who said this quote?? I'm taking American Government, and this week's topic focuses on political parties (doctrines). On the subject of liberalism, a quote was introduced for the credo of liberalism. "I am for both the man and dollar, but in case of conflict I am for the man." Who was the...

I rarely, if ever, read the Bible so, to say I'm unfamiliar with passages in the Bible doesn't do the word "unfamiliar" justice. However, I was at the funeral of a friend's grandfather when the pastor read 1 Corinthians 13. Maybe it was the combination of the words and that lugubrious music they...

I've heard this before, and was wondering what everybody thought of it: Your thoughts. Paden Roder

Quantum Geometry---the Brian Greene quote This is a spin-off from the "Loop Gravity-Rovelli's program" thread based on a post by Sol2. We were talking about Rovelli's book Quantum Gravity---he recently redid his homepage---and Sol2 posted this, with a quote from Elegant Universe and a...

The following is from a book I'm reading: (With regard to uncertainty and vacuums) can someone explain what's going on there.

SImple request here, I read some years ago that a perfect circle cannot be drawn freehand?..or does not exist? I cannot remember who said it, I believe it has some ancient meaning? Can anyone point me in a relevant direction?..ie who said it?

Hello all. I recently stumbled onto this forum, and I'm so glad I did. I'm hoping one of you can help me remember a quote I read years ago, I think it was by one of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics. As near as I can remember, it read something like "anyone who is not astounded by...

"Woman was God's second mistake." Does anyone know what work of Nietzshe's this quote is from?

Famous Hoover "disc" quote debunked: Ivan Seeking On television and in most of the current Roswell literature, this quote is often cited as evidence that Hoover had a continuing interest in the Roswell disc and the "other discs recovered". Here, thanks to some skeptical prodding by Zoobyshoe...

Something Einstein wrote in 1952 contains this quote "Space-time does not claim existence on its own, but only as a structural quality of the field." It is not especially easy to grasp the meaning, I suspect, but it might be worth thinking about. Eh quoted this in another PF thread and I...

interesting article (note it starts off with sarcasm) http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/196/science/Faith_based_science_is_not_really_science+.shtml