Abstract
Following with the discovery of the electron by J. J. Thomson at the end of the nineteenth century a steady elucidation of the structure of the atom occurred over the next 40 years culminating in the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938–1939. The significant steps after the electron discovery were: discovery of the nuclear atom by Rutherford (Philos Mag 6th Ser 21:669–688, 1911), the transformation of elements by Rutherford (Philos Mag 37:578–587, 1919), discovery of artificial radioactivity by Joliot-Curie and Joliot-Curie (Comptes Rendus Acad Sci Paris 198:254–256, 1934), and the discovery of the neutron by Chadwick (Nature 129:312, 1932a, Proc R Soc Ser A 136:692–708, 1932b; Proc R Soc Lond Ser A 136:744–748, 1932c). The neutron furnished scientists with a particle able to penetrate atomic nuclei without expenditure of large amounts of energy. From 1934 until 1938–1939 investigations of the reaction between a neutron and uranium were carried out by E. Fermi in Rome, O. Hahn, L. Meitner and F. Strassmann in Berlin and I. Curie and P. Savitch in Paris. Results were interpreted as the formation of transuranic elements. After sorting out complex radio-chemistry and radio-physics O. Hahn and F. Strassmann came to the conclusion, beyond their belief, that the uranium nucleus split into smaller fragments, that is nuclear fission. This was soon followed in 1939 by its theoretical interpretation by L. Mietner and O. Frisch.
Notes
The volume by Davis and Falconer contains facsimiles of some of the relevant papers by J. J. Thomson.
Stoney initially called the unit “electrine” in 1874, see (Stranges 1982, p. 26).
Harvey Fletcher in a posthumous publication described that he worked for his Ph. D. on the oil-drop experiment at the suggestion of Millikan, and after some discussion he was “left with the impression that [he] had suggested oil” (Fletcher 1982). He also carried out the first experiments before Millikan was aware. Millikan in his autobiography acknowledges that the “oil-drop technique, as initiated by Harvey Fletcher and myself and as carried out with much skill and more elaboration by Fletcher in his thesis.” Fletcher claims Millikan said he could not be a co-author of the first paper (Millikan 1911) as Ph. D. students had to author their own work.
Conn and Turner (1965) provide an excellent description and documentation of the discoveries associated with the atomic nucleus.
It is regrettable that Rutherford died in 1937 from an unsuccessful operation on a strangulated hernia before the discovery of nuclear fission.
Chadwick did not have a powerful polonium source until a supply of disused radon ampoules became available (Dahl 2002, p. 104).
C. P. Snow was a contemporary of many of the scientists of this time; he being initially a scientist, and his book The Physicists (1981) is a narrative from the discovery of the electron to the development of the atomic bomb.
See also a letter from Chadwick to Bohr reproduced in Brown (1997, pp. 365–366).
The neutron has a half-life around 10 min. and decays n0 → p+ + e−, but it is not a close combination of a proton and electron.
The word “finally” may have an additional meaning, namely reflecting the Joliot-Curies’ pleasure at discovering something in radiochemistry before anyone else.
In later years after the discovery of nuclear fission the cyclotron became the neutron source of choice.
Quotation from Bernstein (2007, pp. 30–31).
See Graetzer and Anderson (1971, p. 18).
It is possible Noddack did not have the materials and set up to pursue her idea.
Actinium is in the same group as La and not far removed from uranium.
It should be noted that Ba and Kr would not be the only products.
For example, following the discovery of the first inert gas xenon compound (Bartlett 1962) a flurry of publications appeared on xenon compounds.
The scientists were Otto Hahn, Max von Laue, Walther Gerlach, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Hartek, Carl von Weizsäcker, Karl Wirtz, Erich Bagge, Horst Korsching and Kurt Diebner.
Bernstein’s book is an edited version of the secret recordings of conversations by the German scientists.
References
Abelson, P.: Cleavage of the uranium nucleus. Phys. Rev. 55, 418 (1939)
Anderson, C.D.: The positive electron. Phys. Rev. 43, 491–494 (1933)
Anderson, H.L.: In: Wilson, J. (ed.) All in our Time: The Reminiscences of Twelve Nuclear Pioneers), pp. 66–104. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Chicago (1975)
Andrade, E.N.C.: Rutherford and the Nature of the Atom. Heinemann, London (1965)
Bartlett, N.: Xenon hexafluoroplitinate(V) Xe+[PtF6]−. In: Proceedings of the Chemical Society, p. 218 (1962)
Bernstein, J.: Plutonium: A History of the World’s Most Dangerous Element. Joseph Henry Press, Washington (2007)
Bernstein, J. (ed.): Hitler’s Uranium Club: The Secret Recordings at Farm Hall. Copernicus Books (Springer), New York (2001)
Bohr, N.: On the constitution of atoms and molecules. Philos. Mag. 26, 1–19 (1913)
Bohr, N.: The Theory of Spectra and Atomic Constitution: Three Essays. The University Press, Cambridge (1922)
Bohr, N.: Chemistry and quantum theory of atomic constitution, Faraday lecture 1930. J. Chem. Soc. Part 1, 349–384 (1932)
Bohr, N.: Neutron capture and nuclear constitution. Nature 137, 344–348 (1936)
Bohr, N.: Disintergration of heavy nuclei. Nature 143, 330 (1939a)
Bohr, N.: Resonance in uranium and thorium disintegrations and the phenomenon of nuclear fission. Phys. Rev. 55, 418 (1939b)
Bohr, N., Wheeler, J.A.: The mechanism of nuclear fission. Phys. Rev. 56, 426–450 (1939)
Boorse, H.A., Motz, L. (eds.): The World of the Atom, vol. 1. Basic Books, New York and London (1966a)
Boorse, H.A., Motz, L. (eds.): The World of the Atom, vol. 2. Basic Books, New York and London (1966b)
Bothe, W., Gentner, W.: Kernisomerie beim Brom. Naturwissenschaften 25, 284 (1937)
Brian, D.: The Curies: A Biography of the Most Controversial Family in Science. Wiley, Hoboken (2005)
Brown, A.: The Neutron and the Bomb: A Biography of Sir James Chadwick. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1997)
Campbell, J.: Rutherford: Scientist Supreme. AAS Publications, Christchurch (1999)
Chadwick, J.: The existence of a neutron. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 136, 692–708 (1932a)
Chadwick, J.: Discussion on the structure of atomic nuclei. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. A 136(830), 744–748 (1932b)
Chadwick, J.: Possible existence of a neutron. Nature 129, 312 (1932c)
Conn, G.K.T., Turner, H.D.: The Evolution of the Nuclear Atom. Iliffe Books, American Elsevier, London and New York (1965)
Cornwall, J.: Hitler’s Scientists: Science, War and the Devil’s Pact. Penguin, London (2003)
Corson, D.R., Thornton, R.L.: Disintergration of uranium. Phys. Rev. 55, 509 (1939)
Crawford, E., Sime, R.L., Walker, M.: A nobel tale of wartime injustice. Nature 382, 393–395 (1996)
Curie, E.: Madam Curie. William Heinmann, London and Toronto (1938)
Curie, I., Joliot, F.: Emission de protons de grande vitesse par les substances hydrogénées sous l’influencedes rayons gamma trés pénétrants (The emission of protons of high velocity from hydrogenous materials irradiated with very penetrating gamma rays). Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris 194, 273 (1932)
Curie, I., Savitch, P.: Sur la nature du radioélément de périod 3.5 heures formé dans l’uranium irradiation by neutrons (Concerning the nature of the radioactive element with 3.5-hour half-life, formed from uranium irradiated by neutrons). Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris 206, 1643–1644 (1938a)
Curie, I., Savitch, P.: On the radioelements formed in uranium irradiated with neutrons—Part II. Journal de Physique et le Radium 9(7), 355–359 (1938b)
Dahl, P.F.: From Nuclear Transmutation to Nuclear Fission. Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol and Philadelphia (2002)
Davis, E.A., Falconer, I.J.: J.J. Thomson and the Discovery of the Electron. Taylor and Francis, London (1997)
Dirac, P.A.M.: A theory of electrons and protons. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. A 128, 360–365 (1930)
Fermi, E.: Radioactivity induced by neutron bombardment. Nature 133, 757 (1934a)
Ede, A.: The Chemical Element: A Historical Perspective. Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn (2006)
Shamos, M.H. (ed.): Great Experiments in Physics: Firsthand Accounts from Galileo to Einstein. Dover Publications, New York (1959)
Farmelo, G.: The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom. Basic Books, New York (2009)
Fermi, L.: Atoms in the Family: My Life with Enrico Fermi. George Allen and Unwin, London (1954)
Fermi, E.: Experimental production of a divergent chain reaction. Am. J. Phys. 20, 536–541 (1952)
Fermi, E.: Possible production of elements of atomic number higher than 92. Nature 133, 898–899 (1934b)
Fermi, E., Amaldi, E., D’Agostino, O., Rasetti, F., Segre, E.: Artificial radioactivity produced by neutron bombardment. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 146, 483–500 (1934)
Fletcher, H.: My work with Millikan on the oil-drop experiment. Phys. Today 35(6), 43–48 (1982)
Frisch, O.: What Little I can Remember. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1979)
Frisch, O.R.: Physical evidence for the division of heavy nuclei under neutron bombardment. Nature 143, 276 (1939)
Gamow, G.: Atomic Energy in Cosmic and Human Life: Fifty Years of Radioactivity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1947)
Geiger, H., Rutherford, E.: On the scattering of α-particles by matter. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 81, 174–177 (1908)
Geiger, H., Rutherford, E.: The scattering of α -particles by matter. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 83, 492–504 (1910)
Geiger, H., Marsden, E., Rutherford, E.: On a diffuse reflection of the α particles. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 82, 495–500 (1909)
Graetzer, H.G., Anderson, D.L. (eds.): The Discovery of Nuclear Fission: A Documentary History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York (1971)
Grosse, A.V., Agruss, M.S.: Fermi’s Element 93. Nature 134, 773 (1934)
Hahn, O.: New Atoms: Progress and Some Memories. Elsevier, New York and Amsterdam (1950)
Hahn, O.: Otto Hahn: A Scientific Autobiography. MacGibbon and Kee, London (1967)
Hahn, O., Meitner, L., Strassmann, F.: Einige weitere Bemerkungen uber die kunstlichen Umwandlungsprodukte beim Uran (Some Further Observations Concerning the Induced Transmutation Products of Uranium). Naturwissenschaften 23, 544 (1935)
Hahn, O., Meitner, L.: Uber die kunstliche Umwandlung des Urans durch Neutronen (Concerning the induced transmutations of uranium by neutrons). Naturwissenschaften 23, 37–38 (1935a)
Hahn, O., Meitner, L.: Uber die kunstliche Umwandlung des Urans durch Neutronen, II. Mitteil. (Concerning the induced transmutations of uranium by neutrons, 2nd Communication). Naturwissenschaften 23, 230–231 (1935b)
Hahn, O., Strassmann, F.: Ober die Entstehung yon Radiumisotopen aus Uran durch Bestrahlen mit schnellen und verlangsamten Neutronen (Concerning the creation in radium isotopes from uranium by irradiation with fast and slow neutrons). Naturwissenschaften 26, 755–756 (1938)
Hahn, O., Strassmann, F.: Uber den Nachweis und das Verhalten der bei der Bestrahlung des Urans mittels Neutronen entstehenden Erdalkalimetalle (Concerning the existence of alkaline earth metals resulting from neutron irradiation of uranium). Naturwissenschaften 27, 11–15 (1939a)
Hahn, O., Strassmann, F.: Nachweis der Entstehung aktiver Bariumisotope aus Uran und Thorium durch Neutronenbestrahlung; Nachweis weiterer aktiver Bruchstficke bei der Uranspaltung (Proof of the formation of active isotopes of barium from uranium and thorium irradiated with neutrons; proof of the existence of more active fragments produced by uranium fission). Naturwissenschaften 27(6), 89–95 (1939b)
Hahn, O., Meitner, L., Strassmann, F.: Ein neues langlebiges Umwandlungsprodukt in den Trans-Uranreihen (A new long-lived radioactive transmutation product belonging to the transuranic series). Naturwissenschaften 26, 475–476 (1938)
Noddack, I.: Uber das Element 93 (On element 93). Zeitschrift fur Angewandte Chemie 47, 653–655 (1934)
Joliot-Curie, I., Joliot-Curie, J.F.: A new type of radioactivity. Comptes Rendus Acad. Sci. Paris 198, 254–256 (1934)
Jungk, R.: Brighter than a Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists. Penguin, Harmondsworth (1960)
Krafft, F.: In: Shea, W.R.D. (ed.) Otto Hahn and the Rise of Nuclear Physics, pp. 135–165. Reidel Publishing, Dordrecht (1983)
Krebs, R.E.: The History and Use of Our Earth’s Chemical Elements, 2nd edn. Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn (2006)
Lawrence, E.O., Livingston, M.S.: Production of high speed ions. Phys. Rev. 42, 20–35 (1932)
McKay, A.: The Making of the Atomic Age. Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York (1984)
McMillan, E., Abelson, P.: Radioactive Element 93. Phys. Rev. 57, 1185–1186 (1940)
McMillan, E.: Radioactive recoils from uranium activated by neutrons. Phys. Rev. 55, 510 (1939)
Meitner, L., Frisch, O.R.: Disintegration of uranium by neutrons: a new type of nuclear reaction. Nature 143, 239–240 (1939a)
Meitner, L., Frisch, O.R.: Products of the fission of the uranium nucleus. Nature 143, 471–472 (1939b)
Meitner, L., Hahn, O.: Neue Umwandltmgsprozesse bei Bestrahlung des Llrans mit Neutronen (New transmutation processes from neutron irradiation of uranium). Naturwissenschaften 24, 158–159 (1936)
Meitner, L., Hahn, O., Strassmann, F.: Concerning the series of transformations of uranium which are produced by neutron irradiation. Zeitschrift fur Physik 106, 249–270 (1937)
Millikan, R.A.: The Autobiography of Robert A. Millikan. MacDonald, London (1951)
Millikan, R.A.: The isolation of an ion. A precision measurement of its charge, and the correction of stokes’s law. Phys. Rev. 32, 349–397 (1911)
Noddack, I.: Bemerkung zu den Untersuchungen von O. Hahn, L. Meitner und F. StraBmann uber die Produkte, die bei der Bestrahlung von Uran mit Neutronen entstehen. Naturwiss 27, 212–213 (1939)
Noddack, W., Tacke, I., Berg, O.: Die Ekamangane. Naturwissenschaften 13, 567–574 (1925)
Perrier, C., Segre, E.: Some chemical properties of element 43. J. Chem. Phys. 5, 712–716 (1937)
Preston, D.: Before the Fall-Out: The Human Chain Reaction from Marie Curie to Hiroshima. Doubleday, London (2005)
Rhodes, R.: The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Simon and Schuster, New York (1986)
Rife, P.: Lise Meitner and the Dawn of the Nuclear Age. Birkhauser, Boston (1999)
Rutherford, E.: Retardation of the alpha particle from radium in passing through matter. Philos. Mag. 12, 134–146 (1906)
Rutherford, E.: The scattering of α and β particles by matter and the structure of the atom. Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 21, 669–688 (1911)
Rutherford, E.: Collision of α particles with light atoms IV. An anomalous effect in nitrogen. Philos. Mag. 37, 578–587 (1919)
Rutherford, E.: Nuclear constitution of atoms: Bakerian lecture. Proc. R. Soc. Ser. A 97, 374–400 (1920)
Rutherford, E., Chadwick, J.: Energy relations in artificial disintergration. Proc. Camb. Philos. Soc. 25, 186–192 (1929)
Scerri, E.R.: The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2007)
Segré, E.: An unsuccessful search for transuranic elements. Phys. Rev. 55, 1104–1105 (1939)
Segré, G.: Faust in Copenhagen: A Struggle for the Soul of Physics. Jonathan Cape, London (2007)
Sime, R.L.: Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics. University of California Press, Berkeley (1996)
Snow, C.P.: The Physicists: A Generation that Changed the World. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Toronto (1981)
Stoney, G.J.: Of the “electron”, or atom of electricity. Philos. Mag. 38, 418–420 (1894)
Stranges, A.N.: Electrons and Valence: Development of the Theory 1900–1925. Texas A&M University Press, College Station (1982)
Szilard, L.: In: Weart, S.R., Szilard, G.W. (eds.) His Version of the Facts. Selected Recollections and Correspondence. MIT Press, Cambridge (1978)
Thomson, J.J.: Cathode rays. Proc. R. Inst. 1–14 (1897a)
Thomson, J.J.: Cathode rays. Philos. Mag. 44, 293–315 (1897b)
Van Asche, H.M.: The ignored discovery of element Z = 43. Nucl. Phys. A 480, 205–214 (1988)
van Spronsen, J.W.: The Periodic System of Chemical Elements: A History of the First Hundred Years. Elsevier, Amsterdam (1969)
Weart, S.R.: In: Shea, W.R.D. (ed.) Otto Hahn and the Rise of Nuclear Physics, pp. 91–133. Reidel Publishing, Dordrecht (1983)
Weinberg, S.: The Discovery of Subatomic Particles, Revised Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2003)
Wells, H.G.: The World Set Free, 2000th edn. Quiet Vision Publishing, USA (1914)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
J. E. Fergusson—Deceased.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fergusson, J.E. The history of the discovery of nuclear fission. Found Chem 13, 145–166 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-011-9112-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-011-9112-2