Charles Hard Townes Quotes

The beaver told the rabbit as they stared at the Hoover Dam: No, I didn't build it myself, but it's based on an idea of mine

I strongly believe in the existence of God, based on intuition, observations, logic, and also scientific knowledge.

When God said "Let there be light" he surely must have meant perfectly coherent light.

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.

Much public thinking follows a rut. The same thing is true in science. People get stuck and don't look in other directions.

It's almost a sort of fairy story tale, just what a novelist would write about a discovery.

The late Richard Feynman, a superb physicist, said once as we talked about the laser that the way to tell a great idea is that, when people hear it, they say, 'Gee, I could have thought of that.'

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.

In many cases, people who win a Nobel prize, their work slows down after that because of the distractions. Yes, fame is rewarding, but it's a pity if it keeps you from doing the work you are good at.

Many have a feeling that somehow intelligence must have been involved in the laws of the universe.