Niels Bohr's Answers
Tell us about your education.
My formal schooling began when I was seven, at the Gammelholm School in Copenhagen, Denmark. I did well in all my studies -- well, all studies except composition. Despite this, I was still the top-ranked student in my class.
I received a doctorate of physics from the University of Copenhagen early in this century. After that I studied in Cambridge, then Manchester, England.
I've had a difficult time with composition all my life. I am fortunate, though, to have a wife who helps me with all of my scientific papers.
How do you define gravity?
I'm afraid I don't have much to say about gravity. My opinion is based on the theories of other scientists.
What do you think about time?
My thoughts on time are like those of many other scientists. Time is the fourth dimesion. It is intimately entwined with the three spatial dimensions.
It was once thought that time was absolute. I believe that there is absolutely no such thing as absolute time.
What's the deal with matter?
Here's the deal: Matter is made of atoms, and atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, as well as even smaller particles. It is all described by quantum theory.
The world of the atom is strange -- unlike anything that you or I can imagine. For example, depending on how it is measured, an electron appears to be a wave or a particle, but never both. It's what I call complementarity.