Science
Fritz Strassmann
Chemist investigating uranium irradiation products
Who they are
Fritz Strassmann worked with Otto Hahn on chemical products from neutron-irradiated uranium. Their reported barium finding became the experimental puzzle interpreted by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch as nuclear splitting. His place in this milestone is the chemical investigation, distinct from authorship of the Meitner–Frisch explanatory letter.
He connects laboratory identification of products to the development of nuclear fission theory.
Selected contributions
- Contributed the Hahn–Strassmann chemical findings interpreted in the 1939 fission letter.Source ↗
Primary records
Academic paper · 1939
Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons: a New Type of Nuclear Reaction
Meitner and Frisch interpret Hahn and Strassmann’s barium findings as uranium nuclei splitting and estimate the energy release. The letter separates their physical explanation from the preceding chemical experiment.
Reading scope & citation
Reuses documented prior inspection: Both original letter pages visually read as screenshots; underlying laboratory records not inspected. Letter itself dated January 16, distinct from February 11 publication. Reused prior inspected evidence: Both original letter pages visually read as screenshots; underlying laboratory records not inspected. Letter itself dated January 16, distinct from February 11 publication.
In the timeline
- Feb 11, 1939Meitner and Frisch explain uranium splitting
Biography sources
- Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons: a New Type of Nuclear Reaction ↗Nature 143, 239–240; facsimile hosted by Texas A&M University