Niels Hendrik David Bohr was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on October 7, 1885. His father was a scientist and professor at the University of Copenhagen, and Niels was raised in a home where science was the chief interest. He entered the University of Copenhagen in 1903. His main interest was physics, and he was also an excellent soccer player. By 1907, Niels had already won a gold medal from the Royal Danish Academy for his scientific work. He received his master’s degree in 1909, and his doctor’s degree in 1911.

After receiving his PhD, Niels developed a great interest in the atom. He decided to go to England and study with J.J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford. Both of these men were leaders in atomic physics. Bohr first studied under Thomson at Cambridge University,

Niels Bohr’s contributions gave scientists a broader view of the microscopic processes of science. His work and discoveries and especially his principle of complementarity presented a new and refreshing way to interpret and view the electron. This made it easier for most people to understand the complexity of nuclear physics. He gave a much greater understanding of physics and quantum mechanics. This paved the way for progress and different ways of studying things.

Niels Bohr’s major contributions were all in relation with the atom. He used the discoveries of other scientists to learn more about the atom and provide a more accurate description of it and its processes. Rutherford’s model of the atom pictured negatively charged electrons moving in circular orbits around a positively charged nucleus. Contrary to electrodynamic theory, the electrons did not emit electromagnetic radiation. Bohr provided the explanation to this by incorporating Max Planck’s quantum theory into Rutherford’s atomic model. He envisioned specific energy levels for the electrons within which they could move yet not emit radiation. Only if the electrons dropped to a lower energy level, or were raised to a higher level, would they emit or absorb electromagnetic radiation. That the energy of the emitted or absorbed radiation must equal the difference between the original and final energy levels of the electrons explained why atoms only absorb certain wavelengths of radiation. Thus, Bohr arrived at his explanation of the line spectrum of the hydrogen atom.

Bohr returned to Copenhagen a few months after World War II broke out. When Copenhagen was overrun by the German army, Bohr refused to cooperate with the Germans and closed his institute. In 1943, he escaped with his family to Sweden and then to Britain when it seemed likely that he was about to be arrested for his unrestrained patriotic views (his mother was Jewish). While he worked for the British government, Bohr and his son Aage went to the United States, where Bohr contributed to the Manhattan Project. He then served as adviser at the first atomic bomb laboratory, near Los Alamos, New Mexico. He soon began to worry about the far-reaching affects of the new bomb. After the first atomic bomb test in 1945, Bohr went to Washington to plead for immediate international control of atomic weapons. After the war, Bohr returned to work at his institute in Copenhagen. Meanwhile, he kept working actively for the control of nuclear weapons. He organized the first Atoms for Peace conference in Geneva in 1955

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