Victor Frederick Weisskopf quotes

Victor Frederick Weisskopf was an Austrian-born American theoretical physicist known for his work in quantum mechanics and nuclear physics. His contributions were significant to the development of the Manhattan Project and to the advancement of nuclear science. He was also a passionate advocate for science education and international scientific cooperation. Here are 6 of his quotes:

Self-confidence is an important ingredient that makes for a successful physicist.

Victor Frederick Weisskopf

It is possible to apply statistical methods to the calculation of nuclear processes provided that the energies involved are large in comparison with the lowest excitation energies of nuclei.

Victor Frederick Weisskopf

Almost all of the material phenomena which occur under terrestrial conditions are recognized as quantum mechanical consequences of the electrical attraction between electrons and nuclei and of the gravitational attraction between massive objects. We should be able, therefore, to express all the relevant magnitudes which characterize the properties of matter in terms of the following six magnitudes: M, m, e, c, G, and h; M is the mass of the proton, m and e are the mass and electrical charge of the electron, c is the light velocity, G is Newton's gravitational constant, and-most importantly-h is the quantum of action ...

Victor Frederick Weisskopf

The question of the origin of the universe is one of the most exciting topics for a scientist to deal with. It reaches far beyond its purely scientific significance, since it is related to human existence, to mythology, and to religion. Furthermore, it deals with questions are connected with the fundamental structure of matter, with elementrary particles.

Victor Frederick Weisskopf

It was absolutely marvelous working for Pauli. You could ask him anything. There was no worry that he would think a particular question was stupid, since he thought all questions were stupid.

Victor Frederick Weisskopf