Ernest Rutherford

That which is not measurable is not science. That which is not physics is stamp collecting.

The energy produced by the breaking down of the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.

I am a great believer in the simplicity of things and as you probably know I am inclined to hang on to broad & simple ideas like grim death until evidence is too strong for my tenacity.

All science is either physics or stamp collecting.

Now I know what the atom looks like.

If your result needs a statistician then you should design a better experiment.

Should a young scientist working with me come to me after two years of such work and ask me what to do next, I would advise him to get out of science. After two years of work, if a man does not know what to do next, he will never make a real scientist.

I have to keep going, as there are always people on my track. I have to publish my present work as rapidly as possible in order to keep in the race. The best sprinters in this road of investigation are Becquerel and the Curies.

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

I must confess it was very unexpected and I am very startled at my metamorphosis into a chemist.

If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment.

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