Aage N. Bohr

Facts

Aage Niels Bohr

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Aage Niels Bohr
The Nobel Prize in Physics 1975

Born: 19 June 1922, Copenhagen, Denmark

Died: 8 September 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark

Affiliation at the time of the award: Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark

Prize motivation: “for the discovery of the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei and the development of the theory of the structure of the atomic nucleus based on this connection”

Prize share: 1/3

Work

According to modern physics, an atomic nucleus consists of nucleons—protons and neutrons. In earlier models the nucleus was depicted as being spherical, but this proved to be inaccurate. In 1950 James Rainwater postulated that the atomic nucleus can be distorted. The nucleons in the outer portions of the atomic nucleus move about in paths and interact with nucleons inside, causing the nucleus to be distorted. Independently of Rainwater, Aage Bohr arrived at the same theory and corroborated it through experiments in collaboration with Ben Mottelson in 1952 and 1953.

To cite this section
MLA style: Aage N. Bohr – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Tue. 19 Mar 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1975/bohr/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Eleven laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2023, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. Their work and discoveries range from effective mRNA vaccines and attosecond physics to fighting against the oppression of women.

See them all presented here.
Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.