Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

Rife, Patricia

ISBN 10: 081763732X / ISBN 13: 9780817637323

Published by Birkhäuser, 1999

About this Item

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Illustrated boards edition with the cover design printed directly to the boards. The front board displays a graphic design incorporating period photographs of Lise Meitner and scientific colleagues against a khaki and black background with red accent stripe The boards are square with only minimal shelf wear.

Seller Inventory # 000014

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age
• Publisher: Birkhäuser
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 081763732X
• ISBN 13: 9780817637323
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dimensions: 190.5W x 254H x 31.75D millimeters 190.5 millimeters width by 254 millimeters height by 31.75 millimeters depth
• Weight: 1014 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This is an account of the drama surrounding the discovery of nuclear fission, which led directly to the development of the first atomic bomb by the Allies. The female physicist at the heart of the discovery was Lise Meitner (1878-1968), the first woman to earn a PhD in physics at the University of Vienna, a pioneer in the research of radioactive processes, and together with her nephew Otto R. Frisch, an interpreter of the process of nuclear fission in 1938. She was a colleague and friend of many of the "giants" of 20th century physics: Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Max von Laue, and Niels Bohr amongst others. In 1945, her long-term partner Otto Hahn alone was awarded the Nobel Prize for work in which Meitner was directly involved before her secret escape from Nazi Germany. In this biography, the author interprets both the life and time of Lise Meitner, providing a background to the scientific discoveries and social milieu which affected the research, events, personalities, and politics of 20th century quantum physics.

From the Back Cover

"A story of one of the half dozen most remarkable women of the 20^th century."

John Archibald Wheeler

"The dramatic tale of the discovery of nuclear fission on the eve of WWII not just a story of ideas but also of the social and intellectual milieu in which these ideas were developed. It is also the story of how a shy, self-effacing young woman, through talent and hard work, became a world-class scientist Rife tells this story very well."

The Antioch Review

"The particular merit of Rife s biography of Austrian physicist Meitner is that it places her life and work within the historical context It is comprehensive, generally clearly written and appropriate for undergraduate students. Just enough science is included as to make clear the significance of her work...Extensive bibliography, informative footnotes."

Choice

In this captivating biography, Patricia Rife interprets both the life and times of Lise Meitner (1878-1968), the female physicist at the heart of the discovery of nuclear fission. She was a colleague and friend of many of the giants of 20th century physics: M. Planck, her Berlin mentor, A. Einstein, M. von Laue, Madame M. Curie, J. Chadwick, W. Pauli, and N. Bohr. Meitner was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Vienna, a pioneer in the research of radioactive processes and, together with her nephew Otto Robert Frisch, an interpreter of the process of nuclear fission in 1938. Yet at the end of World War II, her colleague of thirty years, radiochemist Otto Hahn alone was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the "discovery" of nuclear fission -- a discovery based on years of research in which Meitner was directly involved before her secret escape from Nazi Germany.