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Niels Henrik David Bohr
Born in Copenhagen to Christian Bohr, Professor of Physiology at Copenhagen University, and his wife Ellen. Christian was an eminent physiologist and is said to have awakened Niels' interest in physics. Niels' mother came from a prominent family in the education field. -
Bohr Enters University
Niels entered Copenhagen University shortly after graduating from his high school, Gammelholm Grammar School, at age 17. Niels studied astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, but focused most of his energy on physics. Having a professor as a father gave him the unique advantage of having regular access to a working laboratory - his father's. Copenhagen University had no physics lab at the time and other students were regulated to strictly using their imaginations. -
Bohr Enters a Contest
While still in his Sophomore year at CU, Niels enters a contest intended for experienced scientists announced by the Academy of Sciences in Copenhagen. He becomes obsessed with his experiments involving surface tension created by oscillating fluid jets and nearly misses the submission deadline. Niels' father bans him from his laboratory and orders him to write the paper. Niels ties for 1st Place with a junior professor 11 years his senior and receives the Gold Medal. -
Gold Medal Paper Published
Niels' Gold Medal Paper on methods for measuring the surface tension of liquids, which he submitted to a contest hosted by Academy of Sciences in Copenhagen, and for which he carried out experiments in his father’s laboratory, is published in the Transactions of the Royal Society, 1908. -
Master's Degree
While at Copenhagen University, Niels came under the guidance and influence of Professor C. Christiansen, a revolutionary thinker in Physics, leading Niels to take his Master’s degree in electron theory of metals, and soon after his Ph.D in the same subject. -
Ph.D in Electron Theory of Metals
The year is 1911, under the influence of both his father and Professor C. Christiansen, Bohr completes his Ph.D. in physics. Like his Master's degree, it focuses on the electron theory of metals and is likewise, a purely theoretical work. -
Bohr Joins Rutherford
In 1912, Niels joins Professor Rutherford’s laboratory in Manchester, immersing himself in the professor's theories. Niels studies the absorption of alpha rays and the nature of radioactivity, publishing a paper in the Philosophical Magazine. -
Bohr Reinforces Rutherford's Atom
Shortly after joining Rutherford's Laboratory, Niels undertook the study of atomic structure using Rutherford’s discovery of the atomic nucleus as a basis. Niels introduced concepts borrowed from Planck's Quantum Theory and succeeded in elucidating a representation of atomic structure that - with minor adjustments - still serves today. -
Bohr Given the Institute of Theoretical Physics
From 1920 until his death in 1962, Niel served as head of the Institute for Theoretical Physics, established for him at Copenhagen University, where he worked with and mentored the likes of Hans Kramers, Werner Heisenberg, George de Hevesy, and Oskar Klein. The Institute for Theoretical Physics is now known as the Niels Bohr Institute, -
Noble Prize in Physics
Niels is a awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in recognition of his work clarifying the Rutherford Atomic Model in 2013 and his own discoveries of the radiation emanating from atoms. In recognition of his Nobel Prize, The Carlsberg Brewery gave Niels a free house located next to the brewery with unlimited beer on tap. Niels' son Aage won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975. -
God Does Not Play Dice
Bohr’s "complementarity" principle is presented for the first time in 1927. According to Bohr, a physical phenomenon changes depending on the experiment being used to observe it. This is theorized to happen on an atomic level. Albert Einstein, never accepted the Bohr's theory. “God does not play dice,” he would say. Bohr worked for the rest of his life to complete the theory. -
Atomic Realisation
Niels had maintained for years that the possibility of creating a nuclear bomb was practically impossible, however after fleeing Nazi occupied territories and reaching London, he was briefed on the Manhattan Project and immediately changed his mind. Worried about Nazis getting the bomb, he joined the team in Los Alamos and spent weeks at a time hard at work. Beyond significant contributions, including designing the initiator for the bomb, a was a father-like figure to the younger scientists -
Citations
Niels Bohr – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Sun. 22 Nov 2020. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1922/bohr/biographical/ Aaserud, Finn. “Niels Bohr.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 Nov. 2020, <www.britannica.com/biography/Niels-Bohr.> "Niels Bohr." Famous Scientists. famousscientists.org. 19 Dec. 2015. Web. 11/22/2020 <www.famousscientists.org/niels-bohr/>.
