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From the 1930s to the 1950s, a period of pivotal developments in quantum, nuclear, and particle physics, physicists at Niels Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen took time off from their research to write humorous articles, letters, and other works. Best known is the Blegdamsvej Faust, performed in April 1932 at the close of one of the Institute's annual conferences. I also focus on the Journal of Jocular Physics, a humorous tribute to Bohr published on the occasions of his 50, 60, and 70 birthdays in 1935, 1945, and 1955. Contributors included Léon Rosenfeld, Victor Weisskopf, George Gamow, Oskar Klein, and Hendrik Casimir. I examine their contributions along with letters and other writings to show that they offer a window into some issues in physics at the time, such as the interpretation of complementarity and the nature of the neutrino, as well as the politics of the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belgian physicist Léon Rosenfeld (1904-1974) has been called "the clarifier" of Niels Bohr's ideas in quantum mechanics. He had a unique connection to Bohr as his close collaborator from 1930 until Bohr died in 1962. However, although he is considered Bohr's spokesman, he had his own characteristic way of articulating Bohr's views. In particular, Rosenfeld added a dialectical-materialist layer to Bohr's ideas in certain contexts. Despite Rosenfeld's open profession of Marxism, the literature has generally avoided discussing its relevance for his work and activities. This paper suggests some reasons why and investigates Rosenfeld's combination of Marxism and complementarity, which his colleague and friend Wolfgang Pauli metaphorically denoted by the equation "Rosenfeld=√Trotsky x Bohr." Rosenfeld's particular views appear anomalous to the frequently expressed stereotypes of both Marxism and complementarity. The paper concentrates on the role Marxist philosophy played in Rosenfeld's fierce defense of complementarity from the late 1940s through the 1950s and the reception his campaign was accorded at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]