We explore because we are curious, not because we wish to develop grand views of reality or better widgets.
Brian CoxRead
(On the energy radiated by the Sun) It's four hundred million million million million watts. That is a million times the power consumption of the United States every year, radiated in one second, and we worked that out by using some water, a thermometer, a tin, and an umbrella. And that's why I love physics.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the immense energy produced by the Sun and the simplicity of the experiments used to understand it.
This quote by Brian Cox illustrates the astonishing scale of the Sun's energy output, comparing it to the annual power consumption of the United States to emphasize its magnitude. It also expresses a deep appreciation for physics, showing how fundamental and seemingly simple methods can lead to profound insights about the universe.
Themes
SunEnergyPhysicsSciencePower
In practice
Example use cases
In a classroom setting when discussing the vastness of energy sources in the universe.
More from Brian Cox
All quotes →Every carbon atom in every living thing on the planet was produced in the heart of a dying star.
Brian CoxRead
Light is the only connection we have with the Universe beyond our solar system, and the only connection our ancestors had with anything beyond Earth. Follow the light and we can journey from the confines of our planet to other worlds that orbit the Sun without ever dreaming of spacecraft. To look up is to look back in time, because the ancient beams of light are messengers from the Universe's distant past.
Brian CoxRead
Feudal societies don't create great cinema; we have great theatre. The egalitarian societies create great cinema. The Americans, the French. Because equality is sort of what the cinema deals with. It deals with stories which don't fall into 'Everybody in their place and who's who,' and all that. But the theatre's full of that.
Brian CoxRead
You dig deeper and it gets more and more complicated, and you get confused, and it's tricky and it's hard, but... It is beautiful.
Brian CoxRead
We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.
Brian CoxRead
Similar quotes
The future depicted in a good SF story ought to be in fact possible, or at least plausible. That means that the writer should be able to convince the reader (and himself) that the wonders he is describing really can come true... and that gets tricky when you take a good, hard look at the world around you.
Frederik PohlRead
We know so much about planets and the universe and small particles and we do not know anything about the inner state of our own bodies, we do not know about this microcosm we have inside our skin.
Olga TokarczukRead
The fact remains that, if the supply of energy failed, modern civilization would come to an end as abruptly as does the music of an organ deprived of wind.
Frederick SoddyRead
What really matters for me is ... the more active role of the observer in quantum physics ... According to quantum physics the observer has indeed a new relation to the physical events around him in comparison with the classical observer, who is merely a spectator.
Wolfgang PauliRead
Taking bold action on climate change simply makes good business sense. It's also the right thing to do for people and the planet. Setting a net-zero GHG emissions target by 2050 will drive innovation, grow jobs, build prosperity, and secure a better world for what will soon be 9 billion people.
Richard BransonRead
In the midst of all dwells the Sun. For who could set this luminary in another or better place in this most glorious temple, than whence he can at one and the same time brighten the whole.
Nicolaus CopernicusRead