#1325 Philip Ball - The Man Who Broke Reality: Niels Bohr and the Making of Modern Physics
RECORDED ON OCTOBER 15th 2026.
Dr. Philip Ball is a freelance science writer, with a BA in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Physics from the University of Bristol. He was an editor at Nature for over 20 years. He is the author of many popular books on science, including works on the nature of water, pattern formation in the natural world, color in art, the science of social and political philosophy, and the cognition of music. His latest book is The Man Who Broke Reality: Niels Bohr and the Making of Modern Physics.
In this episode, we focus on The Man Who Broke Reality. We talk about Bohr’s early life and how he became a physicist, and his contributions to atomic physics. We discuss the development of quantum mechanics, and how if fundamentally changed our understanding of physical reality. We also talk about the discovery of nuclear fission, and the Manhattan Project and the development of nuclear weapons. Finally, we talk about the nature of scientific developments.
Time Links:
Intro
Bohr’s early life and how he became a physicist
Bohr’s contributions to atomic physics
The development of quantum mechanics
How quantum mechanics changed our understanding of physical reality
Did Bohr contribute to other areas of knowledge?
The discovery of nuclear fission
Nuclear bombs and the Manhattan Project
The nature of scientific developments
Follow Dr. Ball’s work!
Follow Dr. Ball’s work:
Our first interview: https://youtu.be/LOft0GnIomE
Our second interview: https://youtu.be/qZKsJ6oVxkU
The Man Who Broke Reality: https://tinyurl.com/2ec4txxw
Twitter handle: @philipcball