Physics Colloquium: Niels Bohr's life behind the physics
Wilhelm Bohr, Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, NIH USA
Abstract:
Niels Bohr (NB) was a leading physicist in the 20th century. He discovered the atomic model in 1913 and later received the nobel price and started the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen. This Institute became the center for physics in the twenties and thirties and a multitude of physicists from around the world trained there and many later received the nobel price. NB participated in the Manhattan project during the war and afterwards he together with Einstein and others made great efforts to prevent the cold war and participated in many humanitarian efforts. NBs father was a famous physiologist who discovered the Bohr effect. His mother was jewish. NB’s wife Margrethe played a major role in all of NB’s efforts and they were both great friends of Israel. NB knew Ben Gurion well, and Margrethe helped in outreach and fundraising.
This lecture is not about physics but about NB and about the people and events that influenced him and about his multifaceted personality. It is about the inner dynamics of a creative scientific environment, which NB established. It is about the role of NB during and after the war and his famous meeting with Heisenberg in 1941. Vilhelm Bohr is the grandson of NB and also the chairman of the Board of the Niels Bohr Archive in Copenhagen. Materials from this Institution will be shown and its functions will be described.
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Event Organizer: Prof. Yoram Dagan
