greentechZONE Archive of engeniusBLOG

After a day of sticking my head inside VLSI chips and Internet protocols, I try to clear it out with something less technical, often in the form of a novel. But thanks to an unexpected holiday gift, I've had the pleasure of spending the last week's worth of stolen late night hours with Suspended in Language, the illustrated biography of Dr. Niels Bohr's life and discoveries. Remember Niels Bohr? If the name only conjures up fuzzy recollections involving something to do with Einstein and Quantum mechanics, you're not alone. Although he was a minor celebrity in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, few people today (including myself) outside the physics community really grasp the central role he played in shaping our current understanding of the universe. So it's been a treat for both the intellect and the soul to finally get acquainted with this gentle genius, and the ideas he unleashed.

It may take some folks who have not encountered the graphic-novel format before some time to get accustomed to the heavily-illustrated narrative that could be confused for a comic book -- but the stretch will be worth it. It turns out that the Bohr biography is part of a series published by GT Labs that uses the comics format to tell true stories about scientists. Reading the part of the first chapter that GT Labs has posted on the Web quickly makes it apparent how closely the authors have worked with the illustrators to support the story line with subtle details that reveal as much about Bohr, the people who surrounded him, and the times they lived in as the words themselves.

Besides painting a nicely-textured portrait of both Bohr's life and work, the authors Jim Ottaviani and Leland Purvis introduce us to Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Dirac, Pauli, and the rest of the unruly mob of thinkers whose orbits passed through the halls of Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen. The carefully crafted tapestry of people, events and ideas provides a clear understanding of how the evolving model of the atom uncovered the disturbing paradoxes that led to quantum theory, as well as the interplay of minds and personalities which made this enormously difficult leap possible. While there's little of the action or intrigue that authors of most popular fiction use to fill their pages, the clear account of the intellectual gymnastics required to unwrap the heart of the quantum universe is as gripping as any detective novel.

As I followed the book's frequent swings between Bohr's work and the rest of his life, it became apparent that his other great contribution to physics was his courtly hospitality. The circle of friends he forged across the world became a tightly-knit team of collaborators who brought their minds to bear on making sense of scientific evidence which morphed our vision of the atom from a deterministic mechanism to a mysterious cloud of interacting probabilities. And as the Nazi movement tightened its grip on Europe in the late 1930s, Bohr also used that same deep well of social capital to protect many scientists from persecution and, when necessary, help them find asylum overseas.

As with any good novel, finishing Suspended in Language was a bittersweet mix of a satisfying conclusion and sadness that the ride was over. The good news is that GT Labs has several other books in the series that offer a vicarious peek over the shoulders of the giants whose explorations to the uncharted corners of the universe have made our everyday world richer. Once the must-read stack beside my bed shrinks another few inches, I'll look forward to exploring the lives of Marie Curie, Emmy Noether, Lise Meitner, Rosalind Franklin and other female scientists in Dignifying Science. Also on my list is Fallout, a chronicle of the life and times of J Robert Oppenheimer and Leo Szilard, who were instrumental in the development of the atom bomb as well as the birth of the Military-Industrial Complex.

Whether it's a visit to an art museum, a hike in the woods, or time with a good book, it's always important to balance our technical lives. I'm grateful for books like this one which help reaffirm my humanity while expanding my understanding of the universe.