It is essential for men of science to take an interest in the administration of their own affairs or else the professional civil servant will step in - and then the Lord help you.

A good scientific theory should be explicable to a barmaid.

All of physics is either impossible or trivial. It is impossible until you understand it, and then it becomes trivial.

The year 1896 ... marked the beginning of what has been aptly termed the heroic age of Physical Science. Never before in the history of physics has there been witnessed such a period of intense activity when discoveries of fundamental importance have followed one another with such bewildering rapidity.

It was almost as incredible as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and it came back and hit you.

An alleged scientific discovery has no merit unless it can be explained to a barmaid.

You should never bet against anything in science at odds of more than about 10-12 to 1.