Skip to content

Although the problem of transmuting chemical elements into each other is much older than a satisfactory definition of the very concept of chemical element, it is well known that the first and most important step towards its solution was made only nineteen years ago by the late Lord Rutherford, who started the method of the nuclear bombardments.

— Enrico Fermi

Another quote →

More quotes by Enrico Fermi

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.

Nuclear Principles in Engineering (2005)

I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence.

If I could remember the names of all these particles, I'd be a botanist.

Hyperspace (1995)

He was simply unable to let things be foggy. Since they always are, this kept him pretty active.

The fact that no limits exist to the destructiveness of this weapon makes its very existence and the knowledge of its construction a danger to humanity as a whole. It is necessarily an evil thing considered in any light.

All Enrico Fermi quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Enrico Fermi (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.