Bohr Born: Quantum Pioneer Reshapes Atomic Physics
Niels Bohr proposed that electrons orbit the nucleus only in fixed paths — jump between them, emit light. Classical physics said electrons should spiral inward and collapse the atom in a fraction of a second. Bohr's model said: they don't. He was right. Born in Copenhagen on October 7, 1885, he went on to develop the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics, the framework physicists still argue about today. During World War II he escaped Nazi-occupied Denmark in a fishing boat. The Allies were waiting.
October 7, 1885
141 years ago
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