Quote by: James Clerk Maxwell

A molecule of hydrogen....whether in Sirius or in Arcturus, executes its vibrations in precisely the same time. Each molecule therefore throughout the universe bears impressed upon it the stamp of a metric system as distinctly as does the metre of the Archives at Paris, or the double royal cubit of the temple of Karnac. No theory of evolution can be formed to account for the similarity of molecules, for evolution necessarily implies continuous change, and the molecule is incapable of growth or decay, of generation or destruction.... We are therefore unable to ascribe either the existence of the molecules or the identity of their properties to any of the causes which we call natural.


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Author Bio


  • NameJames Clerk Maxwell
  • DescriptionScottish mathematical physicist
  • BornJune 13, 1831
  • DiedNovember 5, 1879
  • CountryUnited Kingdom
  • ProfessionPhysicist; Mathematician; Engineer; Inventor; Photographer
  • AwardsFellow Of The Royal Society