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Birthplace and Origins
Niels Bohr was born in Copenhagen Denmark on October 7, 1885 to a two time, Nobel Prize nominated, physiology professor and his mother who came from a very wealthy family. Growing up he went to one of the strictest schools and learned a lot from his father on science and Philosophy when he would sit in with him and his colleagues and listen to them talk. -
Education
Niels Bohr attended University of Copenhagen in 1903 to study physics. He obtained his doctorate in 1911 with his dissertation on the electron theory of atoms. -
Early Research
Niels Bohr entered into the world of Quantum Physics in 1912 during its early phases with Rutherford himself at the University of Manchester. Before Bohr arrived at the University to conduct research, a year prior Rutherford had discovered that an atom contained a positively charged nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons and negatively charged particles (electrons) which orbit the nucleus. -
The Flawed Hypothesis
Niel Bohr's research colleague at the University of Manchester, Ernest Rutherford, had recently made a breakthrough discovery about a year before Bohr arrived on campus. He discovered that the Atom was composed of a dense nucleus made up of protons) and neutrons, while negatively charged particles (electrons) orbit the outside of the nucleus. The problem with the theory was that according to traditional physics, this model wouldn't work, as the atom would be unstable. Bohr wanted the solution. -
The New Atomic Model
In 1913 Bohr found the solution to the scientific problems associated with Rutherford's atomic model. Bohr discovered that the electrons of an atom travel in circular fixed patterns with different distances away from the nucleus. He discovered that the electrons can just from one one orbit to another, and can give off and absorb energy. -
Nobel Prize
Dr. Bohr won the Nobel Prize in 1922 for his work in applying his model of the atomic structure to elements on the Periodic Table of Elements. Most notable was his discovery of the differing energy fields within the Hydrogen Atoms, and the discovery of a new atom (Hafnium-72) with applied experiments derived from his research. These experiments provided vailidity to his experiments, and to himself as a physicist; as well as a house with free beer on tap (true story) -
Birth of the "Bohr Institute"
Niels Bohr, along with his brother (math major), guided the University of Copenhagen towards making its first dedicated institution dedicated to Mathematicians and Physicists. Today the Institute spreads across more than 10 buildings and is staffed by more than 1000 researchers and students alike. -
Nuclear Fission
Due to experiments done by German physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann in 1938, which ended in successfully splitting a Uranium Atom, Bohr and his colleagues were coerced by the United States to find an explanation. Bohr and his colleagues provided a solid theoretical explanation for how Fission takes place, and how to cause it. With one of his most famous metaphorical explanation being the "marbles in a dish" demonstration, paralleling the transfer on energy during nuclear fission. -
ATOM BOMB
In 1943 as a part of the "Allied Atomic Bomb Project" Bohr designed the first ever plutonium Bomb, despite his lack of confidence in its applicable feasibility. Most notably, he thought it would be ethically necessary for the whole world, not just the allied nations, to have access to or knowledge of this new and dangerous weapon. Bohr returned home to Denmark in 1945 after the Atomic Bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, marking the end of WWII.
