Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist who made significant contributions to the field of quantum physics and atomic theory. He is best known for his work on the structure of atoms and his development of the Bohr model, which shows the atom as a small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. In 1913, Bohr proposed a theory for the hydrogen atom based on quantum theory that some physical quantities only take discrete values. This theory explained why atoms only emit light of fixed wavelengths and later incorporated the theories on light quanta. Bohr received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his work on atomic structure.
Bohrs contributions to the study of quantum mechanics are forever memorialized at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Copenhagen University, which he helped found in 1920 and headed until his death in 1962. It has since been renamed the Niels Bohr Institute in his honor. Bohr was also an excellent administrator and helped found CERN, Europes great particle accelerator and research center.
During World War II, Bohr became deeply concerned for his colleagues in Germany and offered a place for many escaping Jewish scientists to live and work. He later angered Winston Churchill by wanting to share information with the Soviet Union and supporting postwar arms control. Bohr went on to organize the Atoms for Peace Conference in Geneva in 1955.
In summary, Niels Bohr discovered the structure of atoms and developed the Bohr model, which showed the atom as a small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his work on atomic structure and made significant contributions to the study of quantum mechanics. Bohr was also an excellent administrator and played a role in the founding of CERN.