Charles H. Townes Quotes

American - Physicist | July 28, 1915 - January 27, 2015

I was very eager to produce an oscillator for short waves. I was doing science with microwaves, and I would get down to a few millimetres in wavelength, but I wanted to get shorter wavelengths; I wanted to get into the infra-red because I saw there was a lot more to be done there.

Charles H. Townes

ScienceWavesShortDoingDownDone

We can't avoid age. However, we can avoid some aging. Continue to do things. Be active. Life is fantastic in the way it adjusts to demands; if you use your muscles and mind, they stay there much longer.

Charles H. Townes

LifeAgeAgingMindYouWay

It was strange, in a way, because there were no ideas involved in the laser that weren't already known by somebody 25 years before lasers were discovered. The ideas were all there; just, nobody put it together.

Charles H. Townes

TogetherIdeasNobodyStrangeWay

There is some truth to the idea that, in the fields of science, individual contributions of great significance are possible.

Charles H. Townes

TruthScienceGreatPossibleFields

The development of science is basically a social phenomenon, dependent on hard work and mutual support of many scientists and on the societies in which they live.

Charles H. Townes

WorkHard WorkLiveScienceSupport

The imposing edifice of science provides a challenging view of what can be achieved by the accumulation of many small efforts in a steady objective and dedicated search for truth.

Charles H. Townes

TruthScienceSmallSearchView

Alfred Nobel really understood very well the necessary supra-natural character of the human enterprise.

Charles H. Townes

CharacterHumanWellUnderstoodVery

I don't think that science is complete at all. We don't understand everything, and one can see, within science itself, there are many inconsistencies. We just have to accept that we don't understand.

Charles H. Townes

ScienceThinkAcceptUnderstandSee

I knew I wanted to be a scientist. Which kind of scientist was the question.

Charles H. Townes

KindQuestionKnewWantedScientist

Science has faith. We make postulates. We can't prove those postulates, but we have faith in them.

Charles H. Townes

FaithScienceProveMakeThoseThem

I was brought up as Christian, and while my ideas have changed, I have always felt myself religiously oriented.

Charles H. Townes

MyselfIdeasChristianAlwaysUp

One of the things my family taught me - I think very important in religion and science - is that you must be ready to stand up for what you think. Decide what you really think is best, and stick with it.

Charles H. Townes

FamilyScienceBestReligionMeYou

12Next pageLast

Related Authors

Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Charles H. Townes quotes