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Birth of Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was born in Copenhagen on October 7, 1885, as the son of Christian Bohr, Professor of Physiology at Copenhagen University, and his wife Ellen, née Adler. -
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Niels Education at Copenhagen University.
After matriculation at the Gammelholm Grammar School in 1903, he entered Copenhagen University where he came under the guidance of Professor C. Christiansen, a profoundly original and highly endowed physicist, and took his Master’s degree in Physics in 1909 and his Doctor’s degree in 1911. -
Marriage and children of Niels Bohr
Professor Bohr was married, in 1912, to Margrethe Nørlund, who was for him an ideal companion. They had six sons, of whom they lost two; the other four have made distinguished careers in various professions – Hans Henrik (M.D.), Erik (chemical engineer), Aage (Ph.D., theoretical physicist, following his father as Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics), Ernest (lawyer). -
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Niels Bohr's Atomic Structure model
By introducing conceptions borrowed from the Quantum Theory as established by Planck, which had gradually come to occupy a prominent position in the science of theoretical physics, he succeeded in working out and presenting a picture of atomic structure that, with later improvements (mainly as a result of Heisenberg’s ideas in 1925), still fitly serves as an elucidation of the physical and chemical properties of the elements. -
Awarded the Nobel Prize
In 1922 Niels Bohr was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them". The award thus recognized both the Trilogy and his early leading work in the emerging field of quantum mechanics. -
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Niels Bohr develops the "Liquid Droplet Theory."
During his research Niels Bohr theorized that a liquid drop would, according to this view, give a very good picture of the nucleus. This so-called liquid droplet theory permitted the understanding of the mechanism of nuclear fission, when the splitting of uranium was discovered by Hahn and Strassmann, in 1939, and formed the basis of important theoretical studies in this field. -
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Niels Bohr's work in atomic weapons
In 1943, during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in World War II, Bohr escaped to Sweden and spent the last two years of the war in England and America and from 1943-1945 worked with the Manhattan Project. Later, he devoted his work to the peaceful application of atomic physics and to political problems arising from the development of atomic weapons. In particular, he advocated towards full openness between nations. His views are set forth in his Open Letter to the U.N., June 9, 1950. -
Death of Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr died in Copenhagen.