Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics: 11 (California Studies in the History of Science) - Softcover

Sime, Ruth Lewin Lewin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520208609 ISBN 13: 9780520208605

Publisher: University of California Press, 1997

Synopsis

Lise Meitner (1878-1968) was a pioneer of nuclear physics and co-discoverer, with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, of nuclear fission. Braving the sexism of the scientific world, she joined the prestigious Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry and became a prominent member of the international physics community. Of Jewish origin, Meitner fled Nazi Germany for Stockholm in 1938 and later moved to Cambridge, England. Her career was shattered when she fled Germany, and her scientific reputation was damaged when Hahn took full credit—and the 1944 Nobel Prize—for the work they had done together on nuclear fission. Ruth Sime's absorbing book is the definitive biography of Lise Meitner, the story of a brilliant woman whose extraordinary life illustrates not only the dramatic scientific progress but also the injustice and destruction that have marked the twentieth century.

About this title

Review:

"Sime has produced a magnificent biography that should help rescue Meitner from oblivion. . . . The story, especially in the lead-up to the discovery of fission by Hahn, Meitner, and Strassman, is absolutely gripping, full of twists and false dawns."--Tania Monteiro, "New Scientist

Synopsis:

Lise Meitner (1878-1968) was a pioneer of nuclear physics and codiscoverer, with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, of nuclear fission. Of Jewish origin, she fled Nazi Germany for Stockholm in 1938 and later moved to Cambridge, England. Ruth Sime's book is a biography of Lise Meitner, the story of a brilliant woman whose life illustrates not only the dramatic scientific progress but also the injustice and destruction that have marked the 20th century. A shy girl, Meitner grew up to be a renowned scientist. Braving the sexism of the scientific world, she joined the prestigious Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry and became a prominent member of the international physics community. Her career was shattered when she fled Germany, and her scientific reputation was damaged when Hahn took full credit - and the 1944 Nobel Prize - for the work they had done together on nuclear fission.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0520208609
• ISBN 13: 9780520208605
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 564