Overview

Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom is the first book that focuses in detail on the birth and development of Bohr's atomic theory and gives a comprehensive picture of it. At the same time it offers new insight into Bohr's peculiar way of thinking, what Einstein once called his 'unique instinct and tact'. Contrary to most other accounts of the Bohr atom, the book presents it in a broader perspective which includes the reception among other scientists and the criticism launched against it by scientists of a more conservative inclination. Moreover, it discusses the theory as Bohr originally conceived it, namely, as an ambitious theory covering the structure of atoms as well as molecules. By discussing the theory in its entirety it becomes possible to understand why it developed as it did and thereby to use it as an example of the dynamics of scientific theories.

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9780199654987

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Kraghs book is not a light read, but for those interested it is fascinatingly detailed and wonderfully researched ... This is definitely a book for the determined but it is an eminent rewarding for those who make the effort. R.S. Shorter, Contemporary Physics In this new book, Helge Kragh fills in the details of Bohr's early career and how it affected science, not to mention Bohr himself. As befits a science historian, Kragh commendably links Bohr's enduring contributions to the painstaking efforts of the many researchers who found the various tiny pieces of the atomic jigsaw and helped fit them together. Cern Courier

In this new book, Helge Kragh fills in the details of Bohr's early career and how it affected science, not to mention Bohr himself. As befits a science historian, Kragh commendably links Bohr's enduring contributions to the painstaking efforts of the many researchers who found the various tiny pieces of the atomic jigsaw and helped fit them together. Cern Courier

Author Information

After graduation from the University of Copenhagen in physics and chemistry, and a period as a high school teacher, Helge Kragh became Associate Professor at Cornell University, Departments of History and Physics. Later, he took positions as Curator at the Steno Museum for Science and Medicine and Professor of the History of Science at the University of Oslo. Since 1997, he has been Professor of the History of Science and Technology at Aarhus University, Denmark. He is a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, the International Academy for History of Science, and the European Academy of Science. From 2008-2010, he was President of the European Society for History of Science.

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