The Discovery of Nuclear Fission

JUL 01, 1989

Fermi’s group bombarded uranium with neutrons in 1934, but it was almost five years before Hahn and Strassmann realized what these neutrons were actually doing. It required superb chemists to bring the comedy of errors to a close.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881174

Emilio G. Segrè

Few modern discoveries have influenced mankind so rapidly and so profoundly as has nuclear fission, and few have had such an intricate history. Thus it is natural that the discovery of fission by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann in December 1938 is remembered and commemorated in many places on its 50th anniversary. I participated in the early experiments in Rome, and later in the US, and I knew most of the principals well, except for Strassmann. I will try to present a brief outline of the discovery and its antecedents.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

1. E. Amaldi, O. D’Agostino, E. Fermi, F. Rasetti, E. Segrè, Ric. Sci. 5, 452 (1934) [10 May 1934].
2. E. Fermi, Ric. Sci. 5, 283 (1934). [25 March 1934].
E. Fermi, E. Amaldi, O. D’Agostino, F. Rasetti, E. Segrè, Proc. R. Soc. London 146, 483 (1934) [25 July 1934].https://doi.org/PRLAAZ
3. E. Fermi, Nature 133, 898 (1934).https://doi.org/NATUAS
4. A. von Grosse, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 57, 440 (1934) [11 December 1934].https://doi.org/JACSAT
5. E. Amaldi, Phys. Rev. 111, 1 (1984). See p. 278.
6. I. Noddack, Angew. Chem. 47, 653 (1934) [10 September 1934].https://doi.org/ANCEAD
7. L. Fermi, Atoms in the Family, AIP, New York (1988).
8. O. Hahn, L. Meitner, Naturwissenchaften 23, 37 (1935) [22 December 1934];
O. Hahn, L. Meitner, 23, 230 (1935) [2 March 1935].
9. I. Curie, H. von Halban, P. Preiswerk, C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 200, 1841 (1935) [27 May 1935].
10. F. Krafft, Im Schatten der Sensation: Leben und Wirken von Fritz Strassmann, Verlag Chemie, Weinheim (1981).
11. L. Meitner, O. Hahn, F. Strassmann, Z. Phys. 106, 249 (1937) [14 May 1937].https://doi.org/ZEPYAA
12. O. Hahn, L. Meitner, F. Strassmann, Chem. Ber. 70, 1374 (1937).https://doi.org/CHBEAM
13. I. Curie, P. Savitch, J. Phys. Radium 8, 385 (1937) [1 August 1937]; https://doi.org/JPRAAJ
I. Curie, P. Savitch, 9, 355 (1938) [12 July 1938].
14. I. Curie, P. Savitch, C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 206, 906 (1938) [31 March 1938];
I. Curie, P. Savitch, 206, 1648 (1938) [30 May 1938].
15. O. Hahn, L. Meitner, F. Strassmann, Naturwissenchaften 26, 475 (1938).
16. O. Hahn, F. Strassmann, Naturwissenschaften 27, 11 (1939) [22 December 1938].
17. O. Frisch, What Little I Remember, Cambridge U.P., Cambridge (1979).
O. Hahn, Vom Radiothor zur Uranspaltung: Eine wissenschaftliche Selbstbiographie, Vieweg, Braunschweig (1962).
18. L. Meitner, O. Frisch, Nature 143, 39 (1939) [16 January 1939].https://doi.org/NATUAS
19. O. Frisch, Nature 143, 276 (1939) [16 January 1939].https://doi.org/NATUAS
20. L. W. Alvarez, Adventures of a Physicist, Basic Books, New York (1987), ch. 4.
L. Badash, E. Hodes, A. Tiddens, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. 130, 196 (1986).https://doi.org/PAPCAA
21. F. Joliot, C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 208, 341 (1939) [30 January 1939].
22. E. McMillan, Phys. Rev. 55, 510 (1939) [17 February 1939].https://doi.org/PHRVAO
23. E. Segrè, Phys. Rev. 55, 1104 (1939) [10 May 1939].https://doi.org/PHRVAO
24. E. McMillan, P. H. Abelson, Phys. Rev. 57, 1185 (1940) [27 May 1940].https://doi.org/PHRVAO

More about the Authors

Emilio G. Segrè. University of California, Berkeley.