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The Scientist is Born
Niels Bohr was born in Copenhagen Denmark. Niels came from very well-educated parents. His father, Christian Bohr, was a teacher of physiology at Copenhagen University. He was the second of the three children. His younger sister became a teacher and his older brother became a mathematician and footballer. -
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Following his fathers foot steps
Niels enrolled as an undergraduate in Copenhagen University. As a student Bohr won a contest for his investigations into measurements of liquid surface tension using oscillating fluid jets. Finally in 1911 Bohr received his doctorate in physics. -
Excelling as a student
Bohr went above and beyond the current theory of liquid surface tension by taking into account the viscosity of the water as well as incorporating finite amplitudes rather than infinitesimal ones. He submitted his essay at the last minute, winning first place and a gold medal. He improved upon these ideas and sent them to the Royal Society in London, who published them in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1908. -
Meeting Rutherford
During this time Niels met Ernest Rutherford, whose discovery of the nucleus and development of an atomic model had earned him a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1908. Under Rutherford's tutelage, Bohr began studying the properties of atoms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1LDJUu4nko -
The great Quantum Mechanics debate
Niels Bohr against Albert Einstein. The debate revolved around whether Bohr's Interpretation of quantum mechanics, which centered on his belief of complementarity, was valid in explaining nature. This debate would continue up until the Fifth Solvay Conference held in October 1927, where the debate was put to a small rest. Regardless of the different views they both had, at the end of the day, they shared a mutual admiration that would last a lifetime. -
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Becoming the teacher
Niels Bohr began to teach physics at Copenhagen University. After a year, he moved and started teaching the same subject at Victoria University in Manchester. -
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From student to head of the institute.
Left Victoria University to return to Copenhagen University to become a professor in theoretical physics. In 1920, the university appointed him as the head of Institute for Theoretical Physics. It is now known as the Niels Bohr Institute. -
Greatest Contribution
Niels ‘s work and research in atoms lead him to develop a picture of atomic structure. This earned the his very own Noble Prize. Bohr's greatest contribution to modern physics was the atomic model. The Bohr model shows the atom as a small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. Bohr was the first to discover that electrons travel in separate orbits around the nucleus and that the number of electrons in the outer orbit determines the properties of an element. -
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The Manhattan project
Bohr's Liquid droplet theory was a huge contribution to the atomic bomb project. Although, despite his involvement and contributions in the U.S atomic energy program in WWII. Bohr was an outspoken advocate for a peaceful application to atomic physics. -
The end of a great mind.
At the age of 77, Niels Bohr passed away in his hometown Copenhagen Denmark.