One of the leading figures of modern science, Niels Henrik David Bohr (1885–1962) was born in Copenhagen, studied at the university there, and later became a professor. He loved ideas that seemed a little strange at first. “If an idea does not appear bizarre, there is no hope for it,” he said.

In 1912, Bohr moved to England and joined Ernest Rutherford in exploring the atom’s structure. Weaving quantum theory into their work, he envisioned a tiny nucleus with electrons in graceful orbits, a bridge from the visible to the invisible, inviting a new way of thought.

“When it comes to atoms,” Bohr reflected, “language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so concerned with describing facts as with creating images.” His respectful debates with Albert Einstein became a beacon for science: clarity and curiosity in conversation.

Bohr received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. In 1945 he was invited to Los Alamos, New Mexico, where he urged leaders toward peaceful atomic policies. He later received the first U.S. Atoms for Peace Award (1957).

About meeting a truly new idea he observed, “Anyone who is not dizzy after his first acquaintance with the quantum of action has not understood a word.” The laughter he recommends is not dismissal but light — a way to stay human while the mind expands.