To keep their solid gold Nobel Prizes away from the Nazis, James Franck and Max von Laue sent their medals to trusted colleague Niels Bohr. But when Germany invaded Denmark in 1940, the medals were no longer safe – so chemist George de Hevesy used his knowledge of chemistry to dissolve the gold into solution, hiding the medals in plain sight for 10 years.
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Image Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aqua_regia_in_Davenport_Laboratories.jpg
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dissolution_of_gold_in_aqua_regia_(II).JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dissolution_of_gold_in_aqua_regia_(III).JPG
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Max_von_Laue_sign.jpg
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_de_Hevesy.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Golddust.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edelmetalle.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atomic-orbital-clouds_spdf_m0.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electron_orbitals.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NatCopper.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silver_crystal.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gold-crystals.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aqua_regia.svg
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