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Early Life
Born the middle child of a middle to upper class family, Niels mother was a banker, and his father was a professor of physiology at University of Copenhagen. In 1903 Niels enrolled at University of Copenhagen to study physics. -
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Doctorate
Niels Bohr received his doctorate with a focus on electron theory of metals. -
Bohr's Atom Model
Presented model of the atom, supporting Ernest Rutherford's findings in 1913 which presented an atom with a positive nucleus, and negative electrons circling it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm2C0ovz-3M
This video explains how electrons travel around the atom according to Bohr and other physicists'. -
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Nobel Prize
Bohr's work over a ~10 year period earned him the Nobel Prize in 1922; Specifically "...for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them." (NobelPrize.org). Both Georg Hevesy (chemist) and Drik Coster (physicist) tested Bohr's theory by discovering element 72 predicted by Niels Bohr. Their discovery led to the validation of, and further strengthened Bohr's electron theory. -
Werner Heisenberg (pictured) and the Copenhagen interpretation
Werner Heisenberg came to be a very important man in Niels Bohr's work. In 1925, as Bohr's assistant, Heisenberg created the foundation of quantum mechanics. This came to be known as the Copenhagen Interpretation (how to study and understand atoms using quantum mechanics). Although following different lines of thinking to explain quantum mechanics, Borh's and Heisenberg's work would be studied years later by great scientists. -
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Atomic Bomb
The ground work for the Atom bomb is based on what Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg developed which is known as the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. Through Bohr's work in the 1930's, the Atom bomb (believed to be unfeasible) by Bohr could be built. In the early 1940's Bohr's country of Denmark became occupied by Germany, and Bohr joined with the Allies. His work on the Atomic bomb became crucial for the dominance of the Allies during WWII, and the future of the Allied nations. -
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Post War Peace
After the war, Niels goal was to use his discovery of atomic energy for peace. In 1954, he assembled a Peace Conference to push forward the safe use of atomic energy. In 1957 he received the Atoms for Peace Award. Finally, after a success filled life, Niels Bohr passed away, on Nov. 18 1962. He is remember for his lifelong work, groundbreaking publications world changing discoveries.
