-
Birth
Niels Bohr was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. His mother was Ellen Adler, who was apart of a Jewish banking clan and his father Christian Bohr, was a accomplished Physiology academic. References:
Editors, Biography.com. “Niels Bohr Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/scientist/niels-bohr. -
Early Life & Studies
Bohr attended Copenhagen University and received both his Masters and Doctorates in physics by 1911. Upon completion of his programs, he traveled to Cambridge, England to follow the Cavendish Laboratory work of scientist J.J. Thompson (Editors, 2014) References:
Editors, Biography.com. “Niels Bohr Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/scientist/niels-bohr. -
The Bohr Atomic Model
Description is too long, please refer to the assignment post. -
A Paradigm in Physics
The classical era of the atom was slowly decaying, as minds such as Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrödinger aid Bohr and his new model of the atomic structure. A paradigm developed between the old way, and the new as the philosophy of physics was called into question. Many protégés of Bohr, and other scholars proposed radical theories such that the electron could be a physical particle, or a waveform. This theory would be proven true as an electron could be both a particle or a waveform. -
Nobel Prize
For his work on the structure of the atom, and the development of Quantum theory, Niels Bohr was awarded the Nobel Prize. -
War in Europe & The Holocaust
Bohr and many of European scientists of Jewish descent, saw the rise of facism as an immediate threat. Prior to the German invasion of Denmark, Bohr (Chairman of the Bohr Institute) used his position to harbor many Jewish scientists targeted by the Nazi Regime, and eventually offer them safe passage to the United States. When Germany finally invaded, Bohr and his family fled Denmark for Sweden, where he lobbied for Jewish support. In 1943 Bohr and his family fled to the United States. -
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was formed by President Theodore Delano Roosevelt with the intent on weaponizing atomic energy. Bohr would "come on to the scene" in 1943, after fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe to advise the scientists working on the atomic bomb alongside some of the most prominent minds in recent history. -
Post-War Europe
Bohr and his family returned home in 1945. Although having negative feelings towards the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Bohr was hailed as a hero amongst the people of Denmark. Several news outlets claimed he was "The Dane who invented the Atomic bomb". He went on to further study the atom, and to delve deeper into Quantum theory, to include Quantum entanglement. -
Death
Suffering a stroke, Bohr died in Copenhagen. His continued work on the motion in an atomic nuclei saw his son, Aage Bohr awarded the Nobel prize in Physics in 1975 alongside Ben Mottelson, and James Rainwater. References:
Editors, Biography.com. “Niels Bohr Biography.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 2 Apr. 2014, www.biography.com/scientist/niels-bohr. Photo derived from:
Hong, Hwan. Copenhagen, Denmark, 27 Mar. 2007, www.flickr.com/photos/hwan/436966948/.
