Who they are
Otto Hahn, working with Fritz Strassmann, produced chemical findings that Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch interpreted as nuclear fission. The 1939 interpretation paper discusses their identification of barium among the products of uranium irradiation. His experimental contribution is distinct from the physical explanation offered by Meitner and Frisch.
He appears as a contributor to the evidence preceding the fission explanation.
Selected contributions
- With Strassmann, supplied the chemical findings discussed in the Meitner–Frisch letter.Source ↗
Selected reading about this person
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 & portrait credit
- Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons: a New Type of Nuclear Reaction ↗Nature 143, 239–240; facsimile hosted by Texas A&M University
Portrait credit
Basch, [...] / Opdracht Anefo. CC BY-SA 3.0 nl. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Photograph. Cropped to 4:5, resized to 320 × 400 and converted to WebP.
