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Niels Bohr: The Man, His Science, & the World They Changed
This new paperback edition celebrates the centennial of the birth of one of the major theoretical physicists of our time. It is an engrossing account of an exciting period in history and science as well as a good introduction to nuclear physics for the nonscientist.Moving from Bohr's first great contribution - a description of what is essentially the modern picture of the atom, in 1913, for which he won the Nobel Prize in 1922 - the book covers his creation of one of the most productive research institutes of the modern period. It also describes his less well known political work before and during World War II, when Bohr first helped colleagues escape from Italy and Germany, and then returned to Denmark to participate in the anti-Nazi movement; and at war's end, when he worked toward a vision of a world free from the dangers of nuclear war.Ruth Moore is a science feature writer for the Chicago Sunday Times. She is the author of several popular science books, including "Man, Time, and Fossils: The Story of Evolution" and "Charles Darwin: A Great Life in Brief."
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First published January 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 14, 2016
Einstein is generally reputed as the greatest theoretical physicist of the 20th century. This biography has convinced me that Bohr might have been the most influential. Like Einstein, Bohr helped pioneer quantum mechanics, and like Einstein was awarded a Nobel prize for it. (In fact, Bohr won the year after Einstein.) The two were matched intellectually. In one of the more celebrated moments in the rise of quantum mechanics, they had a series of debates about the uncertainty principle at the Solvay conferences. Bohr was able to refute Einstein's (clever) thought experiments in near-real-time; at least once, Einstein had a clever proposal that seemed to defy the uncertainty principle, and Bohr was able to use Einstein's own General Relativity to refute him the next day.
Unlike Einstein, Bohr had a dominant social influence on physics. Bohr made Copenhagen into *the* place for physics. Just about everybody who was anybody in theoretical physics between 1925 and 1940 spent time at the Institute for Physics in Copenhagen. He was an inspired administrator, a wise, gentle, and pleasant leader, and a superb research advisor. Just about everybody knew Bohr, and he was a key node in the informal network that disseminated discoveries. He knew more or less everything that was happening, and was in a position to evaluate, compare, and synthesize.
This book is a general one-volume biography of Bohr. The author clearly approves of her subject, but just about everybody in physics approved of Bohr. The technical details are sufficient that I learned things, but the particular emphasis is on Bohr's involvement in politics. We hear a lot about Bohr's decision to stay in Denmark in the run-up to the war and the occupation and his later decision to flee to Sweden. We hear about his involvement in the Manhattan Project, and his (failed) efforts towards international control over nuclear weapons.
My sense is that the author is much too deferential to these efforts. In her telling, Bohr was the wise sage, Churchill an old reactionary, and if only Roosevelt would have lived, the Cold War might never have happened. But the possibility of nuclear cooperation with the Russians is one where Churchill, not Bohr, was the expert. The historical record available since this book was written seems to confirm the hawks here. There was no possibility of a deal that Stalin would agree to that would have preserved the liberty of Western Europe.
Overall, I consider this a good biography of a fascinating subject. I would have enjoyed a longer book; there was a great deal that could have been covered and wasn't. I might also have enjoyed a more recent book. Niels' son Aage Bohr won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1975, after this biography was written. I imagine a more recent writer would have talked more about the father-son relationship. Having a child win a Nobel Prize is perhaps not quite as impressive as inventing quantum mechanics, but it's a considerable achievement and it would be nice to hear more about what Niels was like as a father.
Unlike Einstein, Bohr had a dominant social influence on physics. Bohr made Copenhagen into *the* place for physics. Just about everybody who was anybody in theoretical physics between 1925 and 1940 spent time at the Institute for Physics in Copenhagen. He was an inspired administrator, a wise, gentle, and pleasant leader, and a superb research advisor. Just about everybody knew Bohr, and he was a key node in the informal network that disseminated discoveries. He knew more or less everything that was happening, and was in a position to evaluate, compare, and synthesize.
This book is a general one-volume biography of Bohr. The author clearly approves of her subject, but just about everybody in physics approved of Bohr. The technical details are sufficient that I learned things, but the particular emphasis is on Bohr's involvement in politics. We hear a lot about Bohr's decision to stay in Denmark in the run-up to the war and the occupation and his later decision to flee to Sweden. We hear about his involvement in the Manhattan Project, and his (failed) efforts towards international control over nuclear weapons.
My sense is that the author is much too deferential to these efforts. In her telling, Bohr was the wise sage, Churchill an old reactionary, and if only Roosevelt would have lived, the Cold War might never have happened. But the possibility of nuclear cooperation with the Russians is one where Churchill, not Bohr, was the expert. The historical record available since this book was written seems to confirm the hawks here. There was no possibility of a deal that Stalin would agree to that would have preserved the liberty of Western Europe.
Overall, I consider this a good biography of a fascinating subject. I would have enjoyed a longer book; there was a great deal that could have been covered and wasn't. I might also have enjoyed a more recent book. Niels' son Aage Bohr won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1975, after this biography was written. I imagine a more recent writer would have talked more about the father-son relationship. Having a child win a Nobel Prize is perhaps not quite as impressive as inventing quantum mechanics, but it's a considerable achievement and it would be nice to hear more about what Niels was like as a father.
August 6, 2011
What a fantastic book. Ruth Moore really has a talent for catching the mood. This book wonderfully explores the life of Niels Bohr from a perspective that makes you feel like you knew him, or at least it makes you feel like she knew him. Niels Bohr was an amazing man. He was the only person that beat Einstein in a game of thinking, and was the man that unlocked the power of the atom. Whereas the characters that furnish this tail all crave the power of the bomb, Bohr seemed to be the only person not blinded by its power. I couldn’t help thinking about Lord of the rings as I read this. Books like this always show how much of a life it is possible to lead and show how a person in power can strive to use his power to benefit humankind. Probably the best book I’ve read this year.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews