Biography of Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr was born in Copenhagen on October 7, 1885. His father, Christian Bohr, was a physiology professor at Copenhagen University and a Nobel Prize winner. He graduated from Copenhagen University with his doctorate degree in 1911. A year later, in 1912, he married Margrethe Norlund and had a son who he named Aage Bohr.

Key Achievements

Bohr's work on radiation and atomic structure won him the Nobel Prize in 1922 for physics. Bohr came up with his atomic theory in 1913. He based it on Ernest Rutherford's model. In 1943, he fled to London from the Nazi's. There he helped scientists with the first atomic energy project, AK.A. the Manhattan Project.

Time Frame

Many drastic things happened in Niels Bohr's lifetime.

Mark Twain publishes the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" when he was alive.

The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York.

Interesting Facts

Bohr received the first ever Atoms for Peace Award in 1957 which is an award for the development of peaceful nuclear technology.

He has an Asteroid named after him, Asteroid 3948 Bohr.

Atomic Model

Niels Bohr's atomic model is best known as the "planetary model". The protons and neutrons are shown as blue and red balls packed tightly together in the center. This is called the nucleus. The electrons go around the nucleus very quickly in an elliptical orbit, like planets around the sun.

Resemblance

Bohr's atomic model reminds me of a chamber vacuum. There is always a clump of things in the middle of the chamber which looks like a nucleus. Then there are all kinds of things flying around in the chamber which reminds me of the electrons.