Lise Meitner: Pioneer of Nuclear Fission

This post is a review of the book Lise Meitner: A Life in Science by Ruth Lewin Sime. Meitner was the first woman to be a full professor in Germany, a post she later lost due to being Jewish, and was also unjustly denied a Nobel prize in chemistry for her work on nuclear fission.

The book is quite substantial, at 417 pages. It divides naturally into three parts.

The first part deals with her birth and childhood in Vienna. The author does a great job of describing the milieu of those days in Vienna: the stimulating intellectual atmosphere and the political ferment (Hitler was just being influenced by the mayor Karl Lueger, who preached a mix of nationalism and anti-Semitism, although he was also responsible for transforming Vienna into a modern city). Meitner and her siblings were brought up in an atmosphere which was intellectually alive. Lise loved playing the piano and kept math books under her pillow even at 8 years of age. She and her siblings were all good students.

The second part deals with her higher education and professional life as a researcher. She studied under Boltzmann (his charismatic lectures and intellectual battles with Mach over the reality of atoms is described in some detail). She was mentored by Planck (with whom she played tag in his garden; and became friends with his twin daughters). Over time, initially employed with no pay, and eventually as a subordinate, she rose to become the first woman professor in Germany at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin. It was here that her long collaboration with Otto Hahn took place.

The book describes in a lot of detail the technical aspects of Meitner's work, the back and forth between the scientists she collaborated with, and specifically her role in the identification of nuclear fission (the name was given by Otto Frisch, her nephew and collaborator) by the correct interpretation of Hahn and Strassmann's experiments. The sole award of the chemistry Nobel to Hahn did not acknowledge Meitner's contributions but did not irreparably damage their relations either.

The third part of the book describes in much detail the gradual process by which the Nazi regime removed Meitner from her position and her exile to Sweden where she spent the remainder of her career. We learn about the role of Manne Siegbahn, director of the institute where she worked, in marginalizing her professionally (he was prejudiced against women in science). The post war years resulted in much credit being restored to her and many honors came her way: the element Meitnerium (atomic number 109) is named after her.

Meitner lived a long life of 90 years. Although she never married she had many deep friendships as well as professional relationships with scientists who populate the pages of the book: James Franck, Einstein, Niels Bohr, Max von Laue, Peter Debye, Max Delbruck (her assistant who later became a biophysicist and won a Nobel for Physiology and Medicine)...

The book is extremely well researched. This can be seen from the long list of interviewees in the introduction and the last hundred pages of the book which include tables of radioactive atoms, chapter-wise notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Summary

Very well written, about one of the scientific greats; especially important as an inspiring example of how women excelled in science even when there were significant barriers to their entry (Meitner overlapped in time with Marie Curie; they met a few times). The writing is accessible and moving on occasion. The technical aspects are covered in a lively manner. Essential reading for any scientist.