Niels Bohr Research Paper

Niels Bohr is one of the most prolific scientists in the history of science due to his numerous important contributions in the field of physics and chemistry. His scientific work revolved around the most fundamental unit that accounts for everything in the universe, the miniature atom. The extensive research conducted by Bohr on the structure and workings of an atom won him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 (“Niels Bohr - Biographical” 2014). Bohr’s importance in the field of science is best shown through his intellectually profuse early life, opportunistic education, and his considerable contributions in the fields of chemistry and physics. With the accumulation of these factors, Bohr’s legacy is one that will retain its importance

Bohr’s curiosity in physics is heavily influenced by his father Christian Bohr’s profession as a professor in physiology in the University of Copenhagen. Christian Bohr was a renowned physicist for devising what is known as the Bohr Effect which stated that an increase in blood carbon dioxide content decreases the ability of hemoglobin to combine with oxygen leading to less circulation of oxygen to the body (“Bohr Effect” 2007). In addition, Bohr’s younger brother, Harald Bohr, was also a scientifically gifted individual in the family because of him becoming a renowned mathematician in the future. Harald Bohr founded the complex mathematic field of “almost periodic functions”. The “almost periodic functions” explained how real numbers occur in constant intervals when factoring the accuracy of long and almost evenly distributed periods of time (Aarts 1). Bohr’s constant immersion in a family that is both scientifically and financially gifted helped shape his scientific curiosity and genius

Bohr’s career began with his development of the Bohr model of the atom, a revolutionary model in that it was a relatively accurate depiction of the structure of an atom where electrons revolved around the dense nucleus in constant orbits. Bohr’s depiction of the Bohr model of the atom could not have been accomplished without the discoveries of Thomson, Rutherford, and Planck. In addition to creating an accurate depiction of the atom, Bohr also studied atomic radiation and how electrons jumped from different orbits in a process called the quantum leap. Bohr’s quantum leap idea was inspired by Planck’s quantum theory in that he believed that energy is transferred within atoms in constant quantities. Bohr’s discovery of the structure of the atom and his work to explain the transfer of energy within electrons led to him being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (“Neils Bohr - Biography” 2014). Bohr also conducted a large amount of theoretical work such as explaining certain metallic properties using the electron theory. In 1928, Bohr hypothesized com Complementarity Principle which stated that atoms had both wave and particle-like properties. The Complementarity Principle implied that phenomena that occur on large-scale objects also occurs on subatomic particles (“Complementarity Principle”). During World War II, one of Bohr’s students named Werner Heisenberg