Bohr's Ores

An iron monger bazaar on Eta Island. Erected in July 2004.

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Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

Born in Copenhagen, Bohr studied under Rutherford and expanded his theories of atomic structure. Bohr introduced the idea that electrons travel in orbits around the atom's nucleus, and that the chemical properties of the elements are determined by the number of electrons in the outer orbits. Bohr worked closely with Heisenberg in Copenhagen, and his work won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics. During World War II, he played a minor role in the Manhattan Project, which he claims he joined specifically because they didn't need his help, but it got him out of Europe. After the war, he returned to Copenhagen and became a proponant of nuclear energy.

The synthetic element Bohrium is named in his honor: Bohrium (Bh) has an atomic number of 107. Its most stable isotope, Bh-262, has a half-life of 102ms.