Lost Women of Science

Part 2: Why Did Lise Meitner Never Receive the Nobel Prize for Splitting the Atom?

Sep 14, 2023

In this podcast, we learn about Jewish physicist Lise Meitner and her groundbreaking discovery of nuclear fission. The episode explores her complex relationship with Otto Hahn, the ethics of nuclear weapons, and the role of antisemitism in Meitner's exclusion from the Nobel Prize. The story highlights Meitner's unwavering moral compass and her lasting legacy.

26:21

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Episode guests

Lise Meitner

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Quick takeaways

Lise Meitner's collaboration with Otto Hahn in the discovery of nuclear fission was marred by their differing perspectives on the war and Nazi atrocities.

Meitner's deep remorse and concern over the use of nuclear weapons prompted her to advocate for nuclear peace throughout her life.

Deep dives

The discovery of nuclear fission and Lisa Meitner's role in it

Lisa Meitner, a physicist, realized the experimental results that Otto Hahn had observed meant that the nucleus had split, leading to the process of nuclear fission. She collaborated with her nephew, Otto Robert Frisch, and they published their interpretation of the results. The discovery of nuclear fission opened up the possibilities of generating self-sustaining chain reactions and harnessing the energy released. Meitner's colleague, Niels Bohr, emphasized her contribution to the discovery in a conference presentation, but Meitner and Hahn's relationship suffered from their differing perspectives on the war and Nazi atrocities.

Introduction

3min

Lise Meitner: Contributions and Recognition

5min

The Relationship, Perspectives, and Reactions to Nuclear Fission and the Atomic Bomb

6min

Recognition and Disappointment

10min

A Reflection on Lise Meitner's Legacy and Moral Compass

3min

We continue the story of Jewish physicist Lise Meitner, the first person to understand that the atom had been split. This is the second in a two-part series featuring new letters from and to Lise Meitner translated by author Marissa Moss, author of The Woman who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner (2022). The letters show the fraught and complex relationship between Otto Hahn and Meitner and the role that antisemitism played in the decision to give the Nobel Prize in 1944 to Hahn and not Meitner.

After the discovery of nuclear fission, Meitner grappled with its implication: the advent of nuclear weapons and who would get credit for the discovery of nuclear fission. This would lead to a breakdown of Meitner and Hahn’s decades-long scientific collaboration. Meitner, who had fled Germany because of the Nazis, was horrified at the thought of an atomic bomb. She also faulted Hahn for not speaking out about Nazi atrocities, and questioned his character, though she remained loyal to him to the end. It was their working relationship that defined her life.

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Lost Women of Science

Part 2: Why Did Lise Meitner Never Receive the Nobel Prize for Splitting the Atom?

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The discovery of nuclear fission and Lisa Meitner's role in it

The implications of nuclear fission and the development of the atomic bomb

Meitner's relationship with Hahn, the Nobel Prize, and her moral compass

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts