--- title: "2 Fine-structure-constant Quotes By Gerald Holton" description: "2 Fine-structure-constant quotes by Gerald Holton. Plus more from Gerald Holton and more Fine-structure-constant sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/gerald-holton-46138_constants-of-nature_the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produ_755836.png" --- > [“The power of the deductive network produced in physics has been illustrated in a delightful article by Victor F. Weisskopf. He begins by taking the magnitudes of six physical constants known by measurement: the mass of the proton, the mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produced-in-physics-has-been/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/gerald-holton-46138_constants-of-nature_the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produ_755836.png) > [“The unsolved problems of the physical world now seem even more formidable than those solved in the twentieth century. Though in application it works splendidly, we do not even understand the physical meaning of quantum mechanics, much less how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/the-unsolved-problems-of-the-physical-world-now-seem-even-more/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gerald-holton-46138_anthropic-principle_the-unsolved-problems-of-the-physical-wo_2791921.jpg) ## More by Gerald Holton > [The flight of most members of a profession to the high empyrean, where they can work peacefully on purely scientific problems, isolated from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/the-flight-of-most-members-of-a-profession-to-the-high-empyrean-where/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) > [In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side-by-side with the giants on whose shoulders we stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/in-the-sciences-we-are-now-uniquely-privileged-to-sit-side-by-side/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) > [“The power of the deductive network produced in physics has been illustrated in a delightful article by Victor F. Weisskopf. He begins by taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produced-in-physics-has-been/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) > [Persons living in this modern world who do not know the basic facts that determine their very existence, functioning, and surroundings, are living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/persons-living-in-this-modern-world-who-do-not-know-the-basic-facts/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) > [If the layman cannot participate in decision making, he will have to turn himself over, essentially blind, to a hermetic elite. ... \[The fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/if-the-layman-cannot-participate-in-decision-making-he-will-have-to/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) > [Even in the best times, managing science has been compared to herding cats; it is not done well, but one is surprised to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/even-in-the-best-times-managing-science-has-been-compared-to-herding/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) > [To this day, we see all around us the Promethean drive to omnipotence through technology and to omniscience through science. The effecting of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/to-this-day-we-see-all-around-us-the-promethean-drive-to-omnipotence/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) > [“The unsolved problems of the physical world now seem even more formidable than those solved in the twentieth century. Though in application it works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/the-unsolved-problems-of-the-physical-world-now-seem-even-more/) [Gerald Holton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-holton/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/gerald-holton/#itemlist", "name": "2 Fine-structure-constant Quotes By Gerald Holton", "numberOfItems": 2, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The power of the deductive network produced in physics has been illustrated in a delightful article by Victor F. Weisskopf. He begins by taking the magnitudes of six physical constants known by measurement: the mass of the proton, the mass and electric charge of the electron, the light velocity, Newton's gravitational constant, and the quantum of action of Planck. He adds three of four fundamental laws (e.g., de Broglie's relations connecting particle momentum and particle energy with the wavelength and frequency, and the Pauli exclusion principle), and shows that one can then derive a host of different, apparently quite unconnected, facts that happen to be known to us by observation separately …”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerald Holton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produced-in-physics-has-been/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/gerald-holton-46138_constants-of-nature_the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produ_755836.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/gerald-holton-46138_constants-of-nature_the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produ_755836.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/gerald-holton-46138_constants-of-nature_the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produ_755836.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The power of the deductive network produced in physics has been illustrated in a delightful article by…” — Gerald Holton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The unsolved problems of the physical world now seem even more formidable than those solved in the twentieth century. Though in application it works splendidly, we do not even understand the physical meaning of quantum mechanics, much less how it might be united with general relativity. We don't know why the dimensionless constants (ratios of masses of elementary particles, ratios of strength of gravitational to electric forces, fine structure constant, etc.) have the values they do, unless we appeal to the implausible anthropic principle, which seems like a regression to Aristotelian teleology.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gerald Holton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-holton/the-unsolved-problems-of-the-physical-world-now-seem-even-more/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gerald-holton-46138_anthropic-principle_the-unsolved-problems-of-the-physical-wo_2791921.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gerald-holton-46138_anthropic-principle_the-unsolved-problems-of-the-physical-wo_2791921.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/gerald-holton-46138_anthropic-principle_the-unsolved-problems-of-the-physical-wo_2791921.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The unsolved problems of the physical world now seem even more formidable than those solved in the twentieth…” — Gerald Holton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/gerald-holton/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/gerald-holton/", "name": "Fine-structure-constant Quotes by Gerald Holton", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/gerald-holton/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/gerald-holton-46138_constants-of-nature_the-power-of-the-deductive-network-produ_755836.png" }, "description": "2 Fine-structure-constant quotes by Gerald Holton. Plus more from Gerald Holton and more Fine-structure-constant sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/gerald-holton/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/gerald-holton/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fine Structure Constant", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Gerald Holton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-structure-constant/gerald-holton/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```