Niels Bohr: biography and contributions of this Danish physicist

A summary of the life and scientific contributions of Niels Bohr, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who excelled in the field of atomic physics with the creation of his atomic model.with the creation of his atomic model and in Quantum Physics.

In this way he made new contributions to the atomic model first developed by Ernest Rutherford, adding that the electrons were located, in increasing number, in the orbits around the nucleus.

His studies and work were widely recognized, which earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics and, later, the Franklin Medal in Physics, among other awards and honors.

In this biography of Niels Bohr we will see the most outstanding events in the life of this researcher.

Brief biography of Niels Bohr

Niels Henrik David Bohr was born on October 7, 1885 in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.. His parents were Christian Bohr, who was a professor of physiology at the University of Copenhagen and a follower of Lutheran Christianity, and Ellen Adler who belonged to a Jewish family of bankers and politicians, with good economic position and linked to Danish banking.

Years of youth and studies

The young Bohr studied physics at the University of Copenhagen, the university in the city where his father was a professor, and where he obtained his Ph. and where he received his doctorate in 1911.

In order to continue his education and given his growing interest in nuclear physics, moved to England to join the prestigious Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. At that time, the laboratory was directed by the famous chemist Joseph John Thomson, who discovered the electron, a negatively charged subatomic particle, and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906.

But since J.J. Thomson did not appreciate Bohr's work, nor did he show much interest in it, Niels decided to travel to Manchester and continue his studies at the University of Manchester, where he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1906.. On this occasion, his teacher and mentor was Ernest Rutherford, a physicist who also won the Nobel Prize (although in this case in Chemistry) and was recognized for discoveries such as the atomic structure or model. His new professor was able to value his abilities and studies, thus beginning a professional and friendly relationship between the two.

On a personal level, the physicist married his fiancée Margrethe Norlund on August 1, 1912.She was a great collaborator in her husband's studies and research, acting as editor and translator.

The couple had six children, although only four of them would exceed the age of majority, since both the youngest and the firstborn would die prematurely due to illness and a boating accident, respectively.

Bohr's atomic model proposal.

It was Bohr who, to explain Rutherford's atomic model, proposed that this one was served of laws different from those of the traditional Physics, presenting in 1913 his model of the atomic model of Rutherford.In 1913 he presented his model of the structure of the atom, called the Bohr atomic model.

In this model, Bohr put forward the theory of quantum orbits, the main idea of which is that as the number of orbits increases, i.e., as we move away from the nucleus of the atom, the number of electrons in each orbit also increases.

In the same way that through his atomic model he tried to explain the stability of the workings of the electrons around the nucleus, he also pointed out another aspect that Rutherford had not taken into account: he believed that electrons could fall, move from a more external orbit, farther away from the nucleus, to a closer or inner orbit.. Thus, it would make sense that photons of energy would be emitted when this occurs.

The founding of the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics

Without breaking his friendship with Rutherford, in 1916 he returned to his hometown to work as a professor at the University of Copenhagen and set out to raise the necessary funds to found the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, which, as the name indicates, focused on research in theoretical physics.

Given his growing popularity and international recognition for his studies, Bohr was able to obtain the necessary grants, occupying the position of director of the Nordic Institute in 1921 until the day of his death.

The Institute of Theoretical Physics created by Bohr was one of the most important of the time in the study of atomic physics, along with those of the Universities of the Nordic Universities.The Institute of Theoretical Physics, together with those of the Universities of Munich and Göttingen, was one of the most important of its time in the study of atomic physics.

A year after taking office as director, in 1922, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in recognition of his studies and research in the field of atomic physics and radiation, and in 1926 he was awarded the Franklin Medal for Physics.

The same year that he won the Nobel Prize, his son Aage Niels Bohr was born, who was also trained and excelled in the field of physics.. He followed in his father's footsteps by earning a doctorate in physics, becoming a professor at the University of Copenhagen and replacing his father as director of the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics. He also achieved recognition by winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975.

Research after the Nobel Prize

Niels Bohr's studies continued to focus on atoms and quantum mechanics, proposing in 1923 the principle of correspondence, adding later, in 1928, the principle of complementarity in order to explain some phenomena of quantum mechanics that at first seemed contradictory.

During the 1930s he traveled repeatedly to the United States to present the fission of the nucleus. and it was also during this period of time when, together with physicist John Archibald Wheeler, he affirmed, based on the research they carried out, that both plutonium and uranium could fission.

Also well known were the debates he had with the the debates he had with the well-known physicist Albert Einstein regarding the laws of relativity and quantum physics.. Despite their differences, Einstein affirmed that Bohr was one of the greatest scientific researchers at that time.

After returning from his stay in the United States, he settled in Copenhagen, where he continued his work as a professor and his research and was appointed president of the Royal Danish Academy of Science.

Development of research in atomic physics in the wartime context.

In 1941 he again contacted Werner Heinsenberg, who had been Borh's student. Heisenberg was interested in researching nuclear technology, although he did not want to use it for military purposes. Werner would eventually become the leader of the atomic bomb project in Germany..

Given the increasing restrictions and advance of the Nazis, and because of the link that Bohr had with the Jews (since his mother belonged to a Jewish family), in September 1943 he decided to flee with his wife and children to Switzerland, traveling the following month to London and finally went to live in the United States. It would be in this country where he would collaborate in the manufacture of the first atomic bomb, research that received the name of Manhattan Project..

His life after World War II

After World War II ended in 1945, Niels Bohr returned to Niels Bohr returned to Copenhagen, thus beginning a campaign to raise awareness of the correct use of the discoveries made in the nuclear field.influenced by the atomic bomb. Thus, between 1948 and 1950 he participated in the Gifford conferences, which were related to Natural Theology.

In 1951, he published and was responsible for disseminating a manifesto signed by more than a hundred renowned scientists with the aim of requesting the commitment of the public authorities to to use atomic energy for peaceful and non-destructive purposes..

Last years of his life

In 1952, he collaborated in the creation in Geneva, Switzerland, of the European Center for Nuclear Research, known by the acronym CERN. Three years later in 1955, he organized what was to be the first Atoms for Peace conference, held in Geneva.Three years later, in 1955, he organized the first Atoms for Peace conference, held in Geneva, and thus received the Atoms for Peace award from the Ford Foundation in 1957 for his scientific research aimed at the progress of humanity.

Neils Borh died on November 18, 1862 in his hometown, Copenhagen, due to Heart failure.