Top 10 Interesting facts about Niels Bohr

Top 10 Interesting facts about Niels Bohr

Niels Henrik David Bohr is a physicist who was the first to apply the quantum concept- this is a fundamental concept in physics. It explains the nature and behavior of matter and energy on the atomic and subatomic level.

It is almost fate that Bohr or one of his siblings would be a scientist- his father Christian Bohr was a physiology professor at the University of Copenhagen, twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for his research on the physiology of respiration. Young Bohr was exposed to scientific lingua and concepts at the sessions his father held at the family house- these session had lively discussions in the hearing of Bohr and his siblings which most likely captured his interest and inspired him.

The widely acclaimed physicist has a number of achievements under his belt, as the Top 10 interesting things about Niels Bohr will reveal.

1. Neils Bohr wasn’t as good a writer as he was a student in his younger years

Young Niels Bohr- by AB Lagrelius & Westphal- Wikimedia Commons

Bohr is proof that there is redemption, especially as far as studies are concerned. By age 7, Bohr was not able to write great compositions but he was excelling in his other subjects. He is said to have once turned in a two-sentence essay! This situation however changed by the time he was in High School, and he excelled in most of his studies, graduating first in his class.

2. Bohr was reputed to setting off explosions in his University’s lab

Niels Bohr- by unknown author- Wikimedia Commons

Far from the Masters and doctorate degrees in physics which he earned, Bohr had some humble beginnings in his University’s lab where he was reputed for causing explosions now and again, and he ended up breaking a record amount of glass. Must have been quite an experience for him and others!

Bohr’s explosion causing, glass breaking exploits were from his inorganic chemistry experiments- this was one of the other fields he studied, albeit unsuccessfully! He also studied Mathematics and Philosophy, but his forte was Physics.

3. Bohr won a Nobel prize at the same time as Albert Einstein

Niels Bhor with Albert Einstein- by Ehrenfest- Wikimedia Commons

As with most scholars, Bohr and Einstein held a series of physics conversations over the decades. These conversations now go by the name Bohr–Einstein Debates. The two friends subscribed to two different schools of thought regarding the observations of electrons behaving as a particle in some experiments and a wave in others, even though an electron shouldn’t be able to be both.

Bohr held that something can be two things at once but we can only observe one of those things at a time, while Einstein opined that particles exist whether or not we actively observe them. This debate was held in a bid to establish a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics.

Interesting that both scholars were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics despite holding opposing theories. Bohr received his for his atomic model while Einstein’s was for his work on the photoelectric effect. Due to a technicality, however, Einstein was awarded his in 1922 instead of 1921.

The Bohr- Einstein debates are remembered for their importance in the philosophy of science.

4. Bohr’s son Aage also won a Nobel Prize.

Brilliant just like his father, Aage won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research into the structure of atomic nuclei. He also took over the reins of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen after his father’s death in 1962. Niels Bohr founded this institute.

Aage and Niels Bohr were one of the 6 father-son individual Nobel winning duos.

5. Bohr never ran out of Carlsberg beer!

Carlsberg beer supported Bohr by helping him pay for his research in England and funded the Institute for Theoretical Physics. Furthermore, the company invited Bohr to live in its honorary residence as it found him deserving. One of the perks, a tap connected to the brewery for free beer all year round!

Bohr and his family did move into the residence in 1932 and stayed on for the next 30 years.

Carlsberg is a beer giant in Denmark with its own laboratories promoting the study of natural sciences as they relate to beer brewing.

6. Bohr has an element named after him

Bohrium is the name of an element named after Bohr. In science-speak, blasting bismuth atoms with chromium atoms resulted in the creation of a single atom of Element 107, isotope 262.

Bohrium is highly radioactive and does not occur in nature. Only a few atoms of it have been created in a lab to date. This work is credited to German researchers who accomplished it in 1981.

7. Bohr aided Jewish scientists in their escape from the Nazis

As World War 11 intensified, Nazis overran Europe and Bohr was of assistance to Jewish scientists escaping the regime in Germany at the time. He provided them with lab space, funding and temporary homes in Copenhagen.

Bohr too was of Jewish descent. His mother was Jewish hence his family faced persecution. He, therefore, had to flee in 1943 after the Nazis took over Denmark and he got word that the Germans were about to arrest him. They had to flee on a Sweden bound fishing boat, after which he and his son Aage were smuggled into England on a mosquito bomber plane, where he was involved in ‘Tube – Alloys”, a Canadian- British governments ultra- classified program for the development of nuclear weapons.

8. The Copenhagen Institute for theoretical physics was Bohr’s brainchild

Niels Bohr Institute – by Thue- Wikimedia Commons

With his impressive atomic research, at merely 31 years old, the University of Copenhagen hired Bohr as a professor of theoretical physics in 1916. Bohr saw it proper to have a new institute for his field that would allow worldwide researchers to collaborate with Danish scientists at a state-of-the-art facility. He got this approval and the Copenhagen Institute first opened its doors in 1921 with Bohr serving as director. The facility was renamed to the Niels Bohr Institute, with more than 1000 staff and students working and studying therein.

9. Bohr used an alias, “Nicholas Baker”

Like something out of a movie scene, Bohr had to use an alias when working on a government project. After learning of Germany’s attempt to build an atomic bomb, the U.S government contacted Bohr so he could work with them on the Manhattan Project, a top-secret program to develop uranium- and plutonium-based nuclear bombs so as to force nations within its axis to surrender.

Bohr took on the assignment in two years where he worked with American and British physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, under the alias Nicholas Baker.

10. Bohr advocated for nuclear science for peace

Unlike U.S and British leaders, Bohr was convicted that the science behind nuclear weapons should be shared. After the war, Bohr went back to Denmark and directed his atomic research to develop sustainable power rather than weapons.

Out of this, Risø was born in the 1950’s- Bohr and several colleagues established a research laboratory with a modern particle accelerator dedicated to developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Bohr consecutively co-founded the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) that held conferences and conducted research at Bohr’s Institute for Theoretical Physics for its first five years. Thereafter it moved to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1957.

Niels Bohr, is widely acclaimed and celebrated in Denmark and the world. In November 21^st 1963, the Bohr model’s 50^th anniversary was commemorated in Denmark with a postage stamp depicting Bohr, the hydrogen atom and the formula for the difference of any two hydrogen energy levels.

Similarly, UNESCO minted the Niels Bohr Medal in 1985 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bohr’s birth. UNESCO awards it to recognize scientists who have made outstanding contributions to physics through research that has or could significantly influence the world.

The Danish National Bank in 2013 unveiled and issued a new 20 kroner coin series with the theme ‘Great Danish scientists in physics and astronomy’ to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Niels Bohr’s atomic theory.  This was done on October 7^th, Bohr’s birthday.