Niels Bohr was one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. He created a model of atomic structure and established the foundations of quantum mechanics for which he received the Nobel Prize on December 10, 1922. In this research paper, I am going to write about the background of Niels Bohr, analyze his ground-breaking contributions, and look at the developments that followed from Bohr's work, and how human society benefits from his work.
Niels Henrik David Bohr was born in Copenhagen, the capital city of Demark on October 7, 1885. Bohr was raised in an amicable and inspiring family. His father, Christian Bohr, was a physiology professor in University of Copenhagen, and his mother Ellen Adler Bohr came from an opulent Jewish educator's family. (Nobel Prize) Christian and Ellen had three children: Jenny, Niels and Harald. According to Margrethe Bohr, Niels Bohr's wife, she claimed: "[Niels] had such a very happy home life with this combination of a very intelligent and wise father and a very loving mother. His mother, Ellen wasn't merely loving, she was also very clear in thought. The mother read very much to [the children]. When [Niels] was older he discussed scientific and other topics with his father. "(Pais 43) In Niels' childhood, his brother Harald Bohr, who became a mathematician in later years, was his real best friend; they both went to the same school for primary and secondary in Gammelholm, Copenhagen (Pais 48). The brothers gathered together and conversed about science theories, and the young Niels usually asked opinions from Harald to see his perspectives (Gale). .
In the autumn of 1903, Niels Bohr entered the University of Copenhagen. Niels chose physics as his major, and he also selected chemistry, philosophy, mathematics as his minors. Bohr's physics professor was Christian Christiansen, and he was a prominent physicist in Demark. Studying along with his professor, Bohr learned lots from professor Christiansen.