Basic Information:
Fullname: Niels Henrik David Bohr
Nationality: Danish
Birth: Oct. 7, 1885
Death: Nov. 18, 1962
Spouse: Margrethe Norlund
1922 Nobel Prize for Physics: "for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them."
Early Years:
Bohr was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He received a doctorate from Copenhagen University in 1911.In 1913, he developed the Bohr model of atomic structure, which introduced the theory of electrons orbiting around the atomic nucleus. His model involved the electrons being contained in quantized energy states so that when they drop from one state to another, energy is emitted. This work became central to quantum physics and it for this which he was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize.
Copenhagen:
In 1916, Bohr became a professor at Copenhagen University. In 1920, he was appointed director of the new "Institute of Theoretical Physics." In this position, he was in a position to be instrumental in building the theoretical framework of quantum physics. The standard model of quantum physics throughout the first half of the century became known as the "Copenhagen interpretation," although several other interpretations now exist.Bohr and Einstein frequently debated the theoretical implications of quantum physics, and it was Bohr who ultimately explained the solution to the EPR paradox.
Bohr & World War II:
One of Bohr's students was Werner Heisenberg, who became the leader of the German atomic research project during World War II. During a somewhat famous private meeting, Heisenberg visited with Bohr in Copenhagen in 1941, the details of which have been a matter of scholarly debate since neither ever spoke freely of the meeting, and the few references have conflicts.Bohr escaped arrest by German police in 1943, eventually making it to the United States where he worked at Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project, though implications are that his role was primarily that of a consultant.
