Question 33: Is it possible to still discover something new in the field of physics?

Werner Heisenberg (1901 - 1976): “If one asks in what the great achievement of Christopher Columbus when discovering America really consisted, one will have to answer that it was not the idea to make use of the world’s spherical shape to travel to India on the Western route; this idea had already been considered by others. Neither was it the expert preparation of his journey or the professional equipment of the ships – this could also have been done by others. The most difficult aspect of this journey certainly was the decision to leave his well-known land behind and to sail so far to the West that a return would not be possible with the provisions available. In a similar way, really new grounds can be found in science only if at a decisive point and time one is prepared to leave the ground on which science has so far been based.”

Annette Paul, PTB Working Group "Environmental radioactivity": But we have only just begun! There are still so many things we do not understand, and in many cases we have seen only the tip of the iceberg.

Andreas Bauch, PTB Working Group "Unit of time": As soon as I completely understand what is going on in our atomic clocks, I will change my field of work.

Uwe Keyser, former PTB Department "Focal Points of Experimental Research": Oh yes, incessantly

Ernst O. Göbel, President of the PTB: With absolute certainty

Reinhard Scherm, former PTB Department "Fundamentals of Physics and Metrology": Yes, always

Gesine Grosche, PTB Working Group "Unit of Length": Simply thought: in quantum mechanics we have the physics of small scales. What do we know about physics of extremely short times?