Science
Otto Robert Frisch
Physicist; nuclear-fission interpretation coauthor
Also known as Otto Frisch · O. R. Frisch
Photograph · Image credit
Who they are
Otto Robert Frisch joined Lise Meitner in interpreting Hahn and Strassmann’s uranium results as the division of a heavy nucleus. Their 1939 Nature letter used a physical model and an energy estimate to explain the unexpected chemical products. The work belongs to the emergence of fission as a comprehensible nuclear process.
His contribution is the physical interpretation coauthored with Meitner.
Selected contributions
- Coauthored the Nature letter explaining nuclear division and its energy release.Source ↗
Selected works
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
Documented connections
Documented · co authored with
Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch co-authored the Nature letter interpreting the reported uranium reaction as nuclear division.
Hahn and Strassmann supplied the preceding chemical findings; this co-authorship does not collapse their contribution into the letter’s authorship.
Read the relationship record →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
Los Alamos Laboratory. Unless otherwise indicated, this information has been authored by an employee or employees of the Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), operator of the Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government has rights to use, reproduce, and distribute this information. The public may copy and use this information without charge, provided that this Notice and any statement of authorship are reproduced on all copies. Neither the Government nor LANS makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any liability or responsibility for the use of this information.
Photograph. Cropped to 4:5, resized to 320 × 400 and converted to WebP.
Image source & identification ↗ · Attribution (Los Alamos reuse notice) ↗
