First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"The theory of the light quantum, which Einstein initiated in 1905 and which is with us still, is certainly the most revolutionary development in the history of physics and arguably in the history of science. The creators of the theory, men such as Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli, and Paul Dirac, were often struck by the apparent "absurdity"—the utterly noncommonsensical aspects—of the world depicted by the quantum theory."
"Light is something like raindrops—each little lump of light is called a photon—and if the light is all one color, all the "raindrops" are the same."
"My favorite deep, elegant and beautiful explanation is Albert Einstein's 1905 proposal that light consists of energy quanta, today called photons. Actually, it is little known, even among physicists, but extremely interesting how Einstein came to this position. It is often said that Einstein invented the concept to explain the photoelectric effect. Certainly, that is part of Einstein's 1905 publication, but only towards its end. The idea itself is much deeper, more elegant and, yes, more beautiful."
"At the first of the 1960's Rochester Coherence Conferences, I suggested that a license be required for use of the word photon, and offered to give such license to properly qualified people."
"All the indistinguishable photons illuminate the array of N slits, or grating, simultaneously. If only one photon propagates, at any given time, then that individual photon illuminates the whole array of N slits simultaneously."
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.