Niels Bohr : Danish Physicist
By Alex VanDoorne Jack Kennedy JP Navetta
Background information about Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr was born on October 7, 1885 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Bohr studied at many different schools such as the University of Copenhagen, the University of Cambridge, and Victoria University of Manchester. He was a life long friend of Albert Einstein. He firmly opposed the use of physics as a weapon of war.
The Bohr Atom
Bohr's Awards
1921-Hughes Medal
1922-Nobel Prize in Physics1923-Matteucci Medal
1926-Franklin Medal
1930-Max Planck Medal
1938-Copley Medal
1957-Atoms for Peace Award
1961-Sonning Prize
Bohr Model
The Bohr Model depicts the atom as a small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by electrons that travel in circular orbits around the nucleus, similar to the solar system. The Bohr Model is a relatively primitive model of the hydrogen atom compared to the valance shell atom. The model's key success lay in explaining the Rydberg Formula (used to describe the wavelengths of spectral lines). In the Bohr Model the most stable, lowest energy electron level is found in the innermost orbit. This first orbital forms a shell around the nucleus and is assigned a principal quantum number (n) of n=1. Additional shells are assigned values such as n=2, n=3, n=4 and so on. Bohr's model helped prove what the electrons were doing around Rutherford's idea of a nucleus. Bohr knew Rutherford's idea of the electrons rotating around the nucleus was wrong because he knew any charged particle would be giving off electromagnetic radiation and would lose some energy and the electron would be drawn to the nucleus and annihilate the whole atom.