Bohr

Bohr, Aage Niels, 1922-2009, Danish physicist, Ph.D. Univ. of Copenhagen, 1954. He worked with his father Niels Bohr (who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922) in the 1940s on the development of the atomic bomb, became a professor of physics in 1956, and succeeded (1963-70) his father as head of what became the Niels Bohr Institute, Univ. of Copenhagen. From 1975 to 1981 he was the director of the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics. Bohr and colleague Benjamin Mottelson helped prove the theories of James Rainwater regarding the structure of atomic nuclei. The trio shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.

Bohr, Niels Henrik David, 1885-1962, Danish physicist, one of the foremost scientists of modern physics. He studied at the Univ. of Copenhagen (Ph.D. 1911) and carried on research on the structure of the atom at Cambridge under Sir James J. Thomson and at Manchester under Lord Ernest Rutherford. In 1916, Bohr became professor of theoretical physics at the Univ. of Copenhagen, and in 1920 he was made director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics, which he was instrumental in founding.

Rutherford had discovered the nucleus of the atom in 1911, but classical theory was unable to explain the stability of the nuclear model of the atom. Bohr provided the solution to this problem in 1913, when he postulated that electrons move around the nucleus of the atom in restricted orbits and explained the manner in which the atom absorbs and emits energy. He thus combined the quantum theory with this concept of atomic structure. Much of the knowledge of modern physics was made possible by Bohr's initial revolutionary assumption that atomic processes cannot be explained by classical laws alone. Bohr was a leading figure in the continuing development of the quantum theory over the next twenty years. He received the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics.

When Bohr visited the United States in 1938 and 1939, Bohr told American scientists of his belief, based on experiments reported by German scientists, that the uranium atom could be split into approximately equal halves. This was verified by scientists at Columbia. Bohr returned to Denmark but fled from the Nazi-occupied country in 1943. He gave valuable assistance in the atomic bomb research at Los Alamos, N.Mex., and in 1945 again returned to Denmark. His writings include The Theory of Spectra and Atomic Constitution (1922) and Atomic Theory and the Description of Nature (1934). See his collected works, ed. by León Rosenfeld (Vol. I, 1972).

His brother, Harald August Bohr, 1887-1951, a mathematician, taught (1915-30) at the College of Technology in Copenhagen and in 1930 became professor at the Univ. of Copenhagen. His most noted contribution to mathematics was his formulation of the theory of almost periodic functions. See his collected mathematical works, ed. by Erling Følner and Børge Jessen (3 vol., 1952).

(born Oct. 7, 1885, Copenhagen, Den.—died Nov. 18, 1962, Copenhagen) Danish physicist. He studied the structure of the atom with J.J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford at the universities of Cambridge and Manchester. He was among the first to see the importance of an element's atomic number and postulated that any atom could exist only in a discrete set of states characterized by definite values of energy. He became the first to apply the quantum theory to atomic and molecular structure, and his concept of the atomic nucleus was a key step in understanding such processes as nuclear fission. From 1920 to 1962 he directed the newly created Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen. His work on atomic theory won him a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. He was president of the Royal Danish Academy from 1939 until his death. Though he contributed to atomic bomb research in the U.S. during World War II, he later dedicated himself to the cause of arms control. He received the first U.S. Atoms for Peace Award in 1957. Element 107, bohrium, is named in his honour. His son Aage Niels Bohr (b. 1922) shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physics with Ben Mottelson (b. 1926) and James Rainwater (1917–86) for their work on atomic nuclei.

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(born Oct. 7, 1885, Copenhagen, Den.—died Nov. 18, 1962, Copenhagen) Danish physicist. He studied the structure of the atom with J.J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford at the universities of Cambridge and Manchester. He was among the first to see the importance of an element's atomic number and postulated that any atom could exist only in a discrete set of states characterized by definite values of energy. He became the first to apply the quantum theory to atomic and molecular structure, and his concept of the atomic nucleus was a key step in understanding such processes as nuclear fission. From 1920 to 1962 he directed the newly created Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen. His work on atomic theory won him a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. He was president of the Royal Danish Academy from 1939 until his death. Though he contributed to atomic bomb research in the U.S. during World War II, he later dedicated himself to the cause of arms control. He received the first U.S. Atoms for Peace Award in 1957. Element 107, bohrium, is named in his honour. His son Aage Niels Bohr (b. 1922) shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physics with Ben Mottelson (b. 1926) and James Rainwater (1917–86) for their work on atomic nuclei.

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Bohr can refer to any of the following Danish people:

• Niels Bohr (1885-1962), Danish atomic physicist, Nobel Prize in physics 1922
• Aage Niels Bohr (born 1922), Danish nuclear physicist, Nobel Prize in physics 1975, son of Niels Bohr
• Christian Bohr (1855-1911), Danish physician and physiologist, father of Harald and of Niels Bohr
• Harald Bohr, Danish mathematician (1887-1951), brother of Niels Bohr

It can also refer to:

• 3948 Bohr, asteroid named after Niels Bohr
• Bohr bug, an unusual software bug
• Bohr (crater), a lunar crater, and Vallis Bohr, a lunar valley
• Bohr compactification, mathematical concept due to Harald Bohr
• Bohr effect, property of hemoglobin discovered by Christian Bohr
• Bohr-Einstein debates, series of epistemological debates between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein
• Bohr magneton, unit of magnetic moment proposed by Niels Bohr
• Bohr model, atomic theory due to Niels Bohr
• Bohr–Mollerup theorem, named after Harald Bohr and Johannes Mollerup
• Bohr radius, radius of atomic orbit in Bohr model
• Bohrium, chemical element number 107 named after Niels Bohr
• Niels Bohr Institute and Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics, parts of the University of Copenhagen