Lise Meitner (1878 – 1968)
Quick Summary
Lise Meitner (1878 – 1968) was a nuclear physicist and major figure in history. Born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, Lise Meitner left a lasting impact through Co-discovery of protactinium-231.
Birth
November 7, 1878 Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Death
October 27, 1968 Cambridge, United Kingdom
Nationality
Austrian-Swedish
Occupations
Complete Biography
Origins And Childhood
Born in Vienna to a secular Jewish family headed by lawyer Philipp Meitner and Hedwig Skovran, Lise Meitner grew up in an intellectually vibrant environment. She excelled at mathematics, pursued private tutoring to pass the state examination that opened university studies to women, and entered the University of Vienna in 1901. There she studied under Ludwig Boltzmann, whose lectures on thermodynamics and kinetic theory shaped her scientific approach. In 1906 she completed a doctorate on heat conduction in inhomogeneous solids, becoming the university’s second female physics PhD.
Historical Context
The early twentieth century brought revolutionary discoveries in physics—X-rays, radioactivity, and quantum theory—while European universities remained restrictive toward women and Jews. Moving to Berlin in 1907, Meitner found opportunities at the University of Berlin and the Kaiser Wilhelm Society’s new institutes, yet she initially worked unpaid and entered through servant entrances. World War I, the collapse of empires, and the Nazi seizure of power later disrupted research networks. Anti-Jewish laws enacted after 1933 pushed Meitner and many other scientists into exile.
Public Ministry
Meitner’s thirty-year partnership with chemist Otto Hahn defined her Berlin career. Together they investigated radioactive decay series, combining Hahn’s chemical separations with Meitner’s physical measurements. In 1917, joined by Otto von Baeyer, they isolated protactinium-231. During the 1920s she became a leading authority on beta and gamma radiation, publishing influential papers and gaining appointment as a full professor of physics at the University of Berlin in 1926.
Teachings And Message
As a teacher, Meitner emphasized precision and collaboration. Her lectures stressed the unity of nuclear physics and chemistry, encouraging students to relate experimental evidence to theoretical insight. She championed ethical conduct, insisting on proper attribution and cautioning that scientists must consider the societal consequences of their work, especially after fission’s discovery.
Activity In Galilee
Her Berlin years were marked by meticulous experiments in the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute’s basement laboratories. Meitner and Hahn designed shielded facilities to detect faint radioactivity, refined Geiger counter measurements, and advanced ionization chamber techniques. Her data on beta spectra influenced theoretical debates leading to Wolfgang Pauli’s neutrino hypothesis. Regular interactions with Niels Bohr, James Chadwick, and Enrico Fermi underscored her international stature.
Journey To Jerusalem
The 1938 Anschluss stripped Meitner of Austrian citizenship and left her vulnerable in Berlin. With assistance from Dutch and Danish colleagues, she escaped to the Netherlands and then to Sweden, joining Manne Siegbahn’s Nobel Institute. Despite limited resources, she analyzed Hahn and Fritz Strassmann’s puzzling results on neutron-irradiated uranium. During a snowy walk with her nephew Otto Robert Frisch in December 1938, she realized that the nucleus could split; together they coined ‘fission’ and calculated its energy release in early 1939.
Sources And Attestations
Meitner’s scientific papers, institutional records from the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, and extensive correspondence with contemporaries such as Niels Bohr and James Franck document her contributions. Oral histories collected by the American Institute of Physics in the 1960s and testimonies from students and colleagues confirm her role as both pioneering physicist and ethical voice. Archival materials in Berlin, Vienna, Stockholm, and Washington, D.C., provide detailed evidence of her career and exile.
Historical Interpretations
Scholars interpret Meitner as a bridge between classical radioactivity research and modern nuclear physics. Biographers Ruth Lewin Sime and Patricia Rife highlight gender and political barriers that limited recognition of her achievements, including the Nobel exclusion. Studies of scientific migration underscore her experience as emblematic of Nazi-era exile. Histories of nuclear physics credit her theoretical interpretation of fission as crucial to the field’s development.
Legacy
After World War II, Meitner advocated peaceful applications of nuclear energy, accepted the 1966 Enrico Fermi Award with Hahn and Frisch, and supported women scientists. The element meitnerium (109) honors her, and scholarships, societies, and university chairs bearing her name promote equity in science. Her gravestone’s inscription—‘A physicist who never lost her humanity’—encapsulates her enduring reputation.
Achievements and Legacy
Major Achievements
- Co-discovery of protactinium-231
- Theoretical interpretation of nuclear fission
- Advances in beta spectroscopy and internal conversion
- Advocacy for ethical responsibility in science
Historical Legacy
Lise Meitner embodied the engaged scientist whose discoveries opened nuclear energy while insisting on ethical responsibility. Meitnerium (element 109) and numerous fellowships and chairs named after her continue to honor her humanistic vision of research.
Detailed Timeline
Major Events
Birth
Born 7 November in Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Doctorate
Earned a physics doctorate at the University of Vienna
Move to Berlin
Joined Otto Hahn’s laboratory to investigate radioactivity
Protactinium
Identified protactinium-231 with Otto Hahn and Otto von Baeyer
Exile to Sweden
Escaped Nazi Germany and joined the Nobel Institute in Stockholm
Nuclear fission
Explained uranium’s splitting with Otto Robert Frisch
Enrico Fermi Award
Received the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s highest honor
Death
Died in Cambridge on 27 October
Geographic Timeline
Famous Quotes
"Life need not be easy, provided only that it is not empty."
"Science can not solve the ultimate mystery of nature, because we ourselves are part of the mystery we are trying to solve."
"I will have nothing to do with a bomb."
External Links
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Lise Meitner born and when did she die?
She was born on 7 November 1878 in Vienna and died on 27 October 1968 in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Why is Lise Meitner famous?
She co-discovered protactinium, interpreted nuclear fission with Otto Robert Frisch, and helped lay the foundations of nuclear physics.
Why did she leave Germany?
Anti-Jewish laws under the Nazi regime forced her to flee Berlin in 1938; she resettled in Sweden.
Did she receive a Nobel Prize?
No. The 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went solely to Otto Hahn for fission, and her omission remains widely criticized.
What was her view on nuclear weapons?
Meitner declined invitations to join the Manhattan Project and urged scientists to take moral responsibility for nuclear technology.
Sources and Bibliography
Primary Sources
- L. Meitner – On the Products of the Uranium Fission
- Otto Hahn – Applied Radiochemistry
- Nature 1939 – Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons: a New Type of Nuclear Reaction
- Archives de l’Académie autrichienne des sciences
- Smithsonian Institution Archives – Lise Meitner Papers
Secondary Sources
- Ruth Lewin Sime – Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics ISBN: 9780520208606
- Patricia Rife – Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age ISBN: 9780813525518
- Elisabeth Crawford – The Beginnings of the Nobel Institution ISBN: 9780521274341
- American Institute of Physics – Oral Histories
- Nobel Prize – Lise Meitner
External References
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