My background is in theoretical physics, and it's…

The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…

— Erich Fromm

Is the purpose of theoretical physics to be no more than a cataloging of all the things that can happen when particles interact with…

— Julian Schwinger

I recognize that many physicists are smarter than I am-most of them theoretical physicists. A lot of smart people have gone into theoretical physics,…

— Linus Pauling

The science behind Interstellar is interesting, because some of it is absolutely real astrophysics and orbital mechanics, some of it is theoretical physics, and…

— Julie Payette

The first thing to realize about physics ... is its extraordinary indirectness… For physics is not about the real world, it is about "abstractions"…

— Anthony Standen

I think my dad [ Stephen Hawking] would have been pleased if I had turned out a scientist because he truly believes that is…

— Stephen Hawking

But, contrary to the lady's prejudices about the engineering profession, the fact is that quite some time ago the tables were turned between theory…

— Nicholas Metropolis

The chief difficulty of modern theoretical physics resides not in the fact that it expresses itself almost exclusively in mathematical symbols, but in the…

— Celia Green

The only object of theoretical physics is to calculate results that can be compared with experiment... it is quite unnecessary that any satisfactory description…

— Paul Dirac

At present, when the prevailing forms of society have become hindrances to the free expression of human powers, it is precisely the abstract branches…

— Max Horkheimer

The progress of science is much more muddled than is depicted in most history books. This is especially true of theoretical physics, partly because…

— David Gross

What I remember most clearly was that when I put down a suggestion that seemed to me cogent and reasonable, Einstein did not in…

— Hermann Bondi

Alchemy and Kabbalah are later developments in my thinking. I think the primary interest has been the relationship of magic and mystery to logic…

— Fred Alan Wolf

Since the founding of quantum mechanics in the 1920s, theoretical physics had nurtured an extremely radical tradition.

— David Gross

I am now convinced that theoretical physics is actually philosophy.

— Max Born