scientific travels

Niels Bohr outsmarts the Nazis

2008-12-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

In talking with an acquaintance at Fermilab a little known story of how Niels Bohr (and other scientists) resisted the Nazis and hid prominent scientists from them.

The story comes from Harvard Professor James English in his book THE ECONOMY OF PRESTIGE: Prizes, Awards, and the Circulation of Cultural Value

When the Germans began their occupation of Denmark in 1940, the great Danish atomic physicist Niels Bohr was rightly concerned that his Institute of Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen had in recent years become a harbor not only for leading German physicists but for the Nobel medals of some of the German laureates who had taken refuge there--in particular James Franck and Max von Laue. Since winners' names are engraved on Nobel medals, these were particularly dangerous pieces of evidence against Bohr's colleagues. Anticipating a raid on his facilities, Bohr managed, just hours before the Nazis arrived, to have the medals dissolved--a more demanding chemical operation than one might think, and not one for which a theoretical physics lab is well suited. The resultant jars of liquid meant nothing to the military officials conducting the search, the institute was spared, and after the war the gold was recovered from its solution and returned to the Nobel Foundation, which had new medals cast for the two laureates."

--James F. English, The Economy of Prestige, p. 157

Bornholm l'heure bleu

2008-08-25T18:27:00.001-07:00

Rønne, Denmark

Copenhagen l'heure bleu II

2008-08-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen Red light district?

Copenhagen l'heure bleu

2008-08-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my favorite Scandinavian photographer (Fredrik) I'm posting a few photos of Copenhagen l'heure bleu.

Ales Stener II

2008-06-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

A little video put together from photos I took while visiting Ales stener. For more information regarding Ales Stones read this original post.

Ales stenar - Ystad Sweden

2008-06-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

"Between the sea and heavens cants the coast there Ale raised a giant ship of stones, recumbent where the glare of light dispersed, in the darkened stillness of the forms reconciles, a saga obscured shrouded to the tones of the Baltic, a memorial whose secret alone it conceals."
-- Anders Osterling (translated)

On the Kaseberga ridge above the southern Swedish coast, Ales stenar attracts nearly three-quarters of a million visitors each year. But what is Ales stenar? We do know it is a 67 meter long ship-shaped monument of 59 granite stones, some weighing two tons.

Four stones in the center align near N-S and E-W and form a straight line with the sunrise on the summer solstice. The largest sundial on the Skåne coast? Visit Ales Stenar and draw your own conclusions.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

2008-06-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

This church, the Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelsers Kirke), is mentioned in Jules Verne's book Journey to the Center of the Earth.
In the book, professor Otto Lidenbrock attempts to reach the center of the earth by traveling through a volcano in Iceland. However, while waiting in Copenhagen Otto and his nephew Axel climb the stairs of the Vor Frelsers Kirke.

There are 400 steps to the top and the last 150 wind around the outside of the spire.

Vor Frelsers Kirke (website)
Vor Frelsers Kirke (map)

Copenhagen Subway Lighting

2008-06-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

An ingenious way to light subway stations using del Sol. I guess the Danes could have done the 'usual thing' and used conventional lighting, drawing power from the grid, but these are the frugal and ubercool Danes we're talking about after all.

The pyramids not only provide light but the prisms mounted on poles spanning the entire vertical drop create an awesome light show (much to the delight of at least one little commuter in his mothers pram).

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Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute

2008-06-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

Having studied Physics for a good many years and eventually getting a degree; imagine the excitement when finally setting foot on the historic grounds of the NBI in Copenhagen.

The thoughts and words of the old guard physicists like Bohr, Ehrenfest and Meitner clashing with the revolutionaries of Heisenberg, Pauli and Dirac still swirl around the NBI on this cloudy windy day.

The Niels Bohr Institute, located at 172100 Blegdamsvej in Copenhagen, Denmark, was host to the most brilliant minds of the pre-WWII atomic era. The informal meetings between Bohr and his younger associates became a formal gathering in the summer of 1929.

I do not believe atomic physics would have progressed as quickly if it were not for the annual summer meetings hosted by Bohr and the tremendous diplomatic efforts exerted by Bohr.

Location: ( 55°41'47.94"N, 12°34'16.54"E)

More information at the Niels Bohr Institute website

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The Copenhagen Weather Girls

2008-06-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to get the weather forecast here in Copenhagen, perhaps none more artistic than the CPH weather girls. A pair of golden young ladies, one holding a bicycle if sunny; the other an umbrella if rain is in the forecast.

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Copenhagen's Observatory - The Round Tower (Rundetårn)

2008-06-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen's Round Tower (Rundetårn) is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. It was the first third of the Copenhagen Trinitatis complex (observatory, church and library) constructed in the city's university complex.

An inscription (Lead God, the right teaching and justice into the heart of the crowned King Christian IV, 1642) adorns the outside of the observatory and is perhaps the most photographed and easily identifiable icon associated with the Round Tower.

The History

King Christian IV commissioned the Flemish-Danish designer Hans van Steenwinckel II to design the Rundetårn in the mid 1630s and the first stone was laid in 1637; it was completed in 1642 (1642 - the year Galileo Galilei died and one year before Sir Issac Newton was born). The observatory was used by the University of Copenhagen until 1861.

It is a common misconception among tourists to think that Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) used this observatory (they are both Danish after all). However Tycho died, in Prague, some forty years before the completion of this tower. Tycho did however travel to and attend the University of Copenhagen in 1559 to study "Rhetoric and Philosophy". However, two years later, in 1561, he switched his studies to astronomy; perhaps inspired by the eclipse of 1560. Tycho along with his student Johannes Kepler revolutionized the scientific world with their astronomical measurements and calculations - the most accurate of their time.

The Engineering

The viewing platform atop the Round Tower is ~35 meters above street level and is accessible via a ~200 meter long helical ramp that winds clockwise seven and half complete revolutions to reach the observatory. The ramp was constructed to facilitate moving books into the attached Trinity church library and provide a mechanism for moving astronomical equipment to the rooftop observatory.

On the rooftop a wrought-iron lattice handrail, made in 1643 by Kaspar Fincke, runs the complete circumference. The careful observer will notice Christian IV's monogram and the letters RFP in the lattice; RFP (Regna Firmat Pietas) - "Piety strengthens the Realms" - is the King's motto.

The Location

Located in the heart of the city, just a few meters north of the famous Strøget at Købmagergade 52A -- Google map coordinates (55°40'52.97"N, 12°34'32.71"E).

Did you know?

The ramp was ascended in 1716 by Czar Peter The Great who rode his horse to the top; later Czarina Catherine rode a carriage to the top. In 1902 a German built Beaufort was the first motorized vehicle to drive up the ramp.

The Spiral Ramp

7 1/2 turns
33% inner rise (10% outer rise)
3.74 meters rise per turn

Observatory

34.8 meters from the street to the observation platform
7 meters high
6 meter diameter

Stairs (up to observatory)

28 wooden and 31 stone steps (atop the spiral ramp)

Tower has a 7.68 meter radius

More?
Visit the Round Tower website for much more information.

Jens Olsen's Clock

2008-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

There are numerous ways to tell time in Copenhagen; none more accurate nor more beautiful than Jens Olsen's World Clock, one of the most precise mechanical clocks in the world. The clock is comprised of nearly 15,000 parts

It can be seen on the first floor of the Town Hall Tower (right hand corner as you enter the Radhus). It's free if you have a Copenhagen Card otherwise it's 10 DKK. Visit the information office (on the left hand side as you enter the Radhus) for more information. Hours are Monday-Friday 9:30 am-4:30 pm, Saturday 9:30 am-1 pm. On Radhuspladsen (at the western end of Stroget), Copenhagen. Phone 33662582.

More on the Jens Olsen's Clock wikipedia

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Scandinavia 2008 Itinerary

2008-06-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

The plan is:

Tuesday

Arrive in CPH/First Hotel Vesterbro
Get CPH card and info at TI
book DSB train tickets to/from Ystad
Radhus building

Jens Olsen's world clock

climb stairs to top?

Strøget
Tivoli

Wednesday

Round Tower
Lunch w/ Sabine 13:00 Post og Telemuseum on Købmagergade
Niels Bohr Institute
Vor Frelsers Kirke
Arkitecturcentret Gammel Dok
Dinner at Ravelinen restaurant

Thursday

early train to Helsingør
Shakespeare/Hamlet tour
meet w/ Peter & Christine if not next Friday
Tivoli

Friday

train to Ystad
15:30 ferry to Bornholm

Friday - Wed on Bornholm w/ Family

Summer Solstice (June 20 - 23:59 UTC)
Hammershus
Round Churches
Genealogy Society Meeting
Sailing in Baltic
Beer, Herring, etc

Thursday

10:15 ferry to Ystad
1/2 day w/ Fredrik in Ystad

Ale's Stones
Ystad Brewery

late train to Copenhagen

Friday

Flight home

Vienna - recollections of days gone by

2008-05-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

I worked in Vienna on a joint software project for a while in the spring of 2001. My flat was on the northeast side of the ring road on Holland Strasse. I walked across the Danaukanal (Danube Channel) each morning to my office on Salzgries Strasse.

I remember many a spring evening walking up and down Kartner Strasse and dining around St. Stephens Church. I recall one special evening in particular, it is the end of May and May 2001 is hotter than usual(~30C); as such there are many open windows on the upper floors of older buildings, the occupants seeking a little cooling from the evening breeze. As I approach the southwest end of Kärntner Straße, near the Opernring (Opera Ring) road, I hear a soprano practicing and her voice is lifted by the warm evening breeze and drifts gently onto the cobblestone street below. I pause, not sure from where the sound originates. It is coming from a large second story open window on the back side of the opera house. I find a little coffee shop nearby; sit outside with the warm breeze on my face, sweet Viennese coffee on my lips and the sound of heaven whispering in my ears.

photo by Stranskyat