Lise Meitner
Physicist who co-discovered nuclear fission.
She received her doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1906. In Berlin, she teamed up with Otto Hahn at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry. After fleeing Nazi Germany in July 1938, she and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch theorized and proved that the uranium nucleus had been split, a process Frisch named "fission." Meitner calculated that the energy released by each disintegration was approximately 200 megaelectronvolts.
- field
- Nuclear physics
- nationality
- Austrian
- known_for
- Discovery of nuclear fission
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Lise Meitner received her doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1906. She moved to Berlin to study physics under Max Planck at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität. She teamed up with Otto Hahn, who was about the same age as her, and they moved to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in 1913. By 1920, they had become heads of their own laboratories there. During the First World War, Meitner became a volunteer radiographer in Austrian Army hospitals, returning to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in October 1916. A few months before the discovery of fission, she fled Nazi Germany to Sweden. From there, Hahn and Strassmann reported their findings by mail to Meitner. Meitner and her nephew Frisch theorized, and then proved, that the uranium nucleus had been split, publishing their findings in Nature. Meitner calculated that the energy released by each disintegration was approximately 200 megaelectronvolts, and Frisch observed this. By analogy with the division of biological cells, Frisch named the process "fission." Hahn was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission.
Reader's Guide
Lise Meitner's significance lies in her central role in the discovery of nuclear fission. Working with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry, the team conducted a four-year-long investigation into the process of bombarding uranium with neutrons. After Hahn and Strassmann discovered that barium had been produced, Hahn suggested a bursting of the nucleus but was unsure of the physical basis. They reported their findings by mail to Meitner in Sweden. Meitner and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch then theorized, and proved, that the uranium nucleus had been split. Meitner calculated that the energy released by each disintegration was approximately 200 megaelectronvolts. Their work overturned long-held beliefs in physics and paved the way for the discovery of the real elements 93 (neptunium) and 94 (plutonium), for the discovery of fission in other elements, and for the determination of the role of the uranium-235 isotope in that of uranium. The discovery that a nuclear chain reaction was possible led to the development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons.
Did You Know?
- Meitner received her doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1906, becoming the second woman to earn a doctorate in physics from that university.
- She fled Nazi Germany in July 1938, a few months before the discovery of fission.
- Meitner calculated that the energy released by each fission disintegration was approximately 200 megaelectronvolts.
- Her nephew Otto Robert Frisch named the process 'fission' by analogy with the division of biological cells.
- Hahn and Meitner were the discoverers of the most stable isotope of protactinium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lise Meitner?
Lise Meitner (1878–1968) was an Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist best known for her central role in identifying and explaining the process of nuclear fission. She is widely regarded as one of the most consequential physicists of the twentieth century.
What did Lise Meitner discover?
After chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann showed that neutron bombardment of uranium produced barium isotopes, Meitner worked out the underlying physics: the uranium nucleus was actually splitting into smaller fragments. Together with her nephew Otto Frisch, she named this process 'fission,' a finding that later underpinned both nuclear reactors and atomic weapons.
Why was Lise Meitner not awarded the Nobel Prize for nuclear fission?
The 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded solely to Otto Hahn for the discovery of fission, even though Meitner supplied the critical theoretical explanation of how the nucleus splits. Her exclusion is frequently cited as one of the most glaring oversights in Nobel history.
Who coined the term 'nuclear fission' and when?
Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Frisch introduced the word 'fission' in early 1939 to describe the splitting of an atomic nucleus. The term was drawn from biological language, evoking the image of a cell dividing into two.
What was Lise Meitner's nationality and where did she spend her career?
Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1878, Meitner later became a Swedish citizen after emigrating in 1938 to escape the Nazi regime. She spent the remainder of her career at the University of Stockholm, where she passed away in October 1968.
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