Noun
theoretical physicist (plural theoretical physicists)
(physics, profession) A scientist who studies theoretical physics; using math and other abstract analysis rather than practical experimentation.
The most important tool of the theoretical physicist is his wastebasket. Albert Einstein
The career of a young theoretical physicist consists of treating the harmonic oscillator in ever-increasing levels of abstraction. Sidney Coleman
Therefore psychologically we must keep all the theories in our heads, and every theoretical physicist who is any good knows six or seven different theoretical representations for exactly the same physics. Richard Feynman
Actually, I was more or less determined to be a theoretical physicist at the age of thirteen. David Gross
It is well known that theoretical physicists cannot handle experimental equipment; it breaks whenever they touch it. Pauli was such a good theoretical physicist that something usually broke in the lab whenever he merely stepped across the threshold. George Gamow
When I was a college student at Yale, I was studying physics and mathematics and was absolutely intent on becoming a theoretical physicist. James Rothman