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The discovery of fission

NOV 01, 1967
Initial formulations of nuclear fission are colored with the successes, failures and just plain bad luck of several scientists from different nations. The winning combination of good fortune and careful thought made this exciting concept a reality.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3034021

Otto R. Frisch
John A. Wheeler

THE NEUTRON was discovered in 1932. Why, then, did it take seven years before nuclear fission was found? Fission is obviously a striking phenomenon; it results in a large amount of radioactivity of all kinds and produces fragments that have more than ten times the total ionization of anything previously known. So why did it take so long? The question might be answered best by reviewing the situation in Europe from an experimentalist’s point of view.

This article is only available in PDF format

More about the authors

Otto R. Frisch, Cambridge University, England.

John A. Wheeler, Princeton's physics department.

© 1967 American Institute of Physics
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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 20, Number 11

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