1878-1968

Austrian-Swedish Physicist and Radiochemist

Lise Meitner is best known for her role in the discovery that heavy unstable nuclei such as uranium-235 could decay by a fission process in which the nucleus could split into two pieces of nearly equal size, releasing additional neutrons and an immense amount of energy. When physicists realized that the neutrons could be used to initiate additional fission events, it became apparent that a chain reaction could realized, leading eventually to the first atomic bombs.

Lisa Meitner entered the University of Vienna in 1901. Although she was encouraged by a number of the physics faculty, including the eminent Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906), she received a rather unfriendly reception from the largely male student body. In 1905 she became the second woman to receive a doctorate from the University. Following graduation she moved to Berlin where she planned to study under Max Planck (1858-...