Lise Meitner

Essay # 58914

Physics > Nuclear
Women Studies > Historical Figures

Lise Meitner

The life and times of female physicist Lise Meitner, mother to the atomic bomb.

800 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the life of Lise Meitner who was born in Vienna on November 7, 1878. It looks at how, in order to become one of Germany's leading physicists, she overcame huge obstacles as a woman and as a Jew, and how she was the first to identify nuclear fission. It discusses how, even though she was denied the Nobel Prize and due recognition during her lifetime, Lise Meitner is now considered one of the most significant woman scientists of the century.

From the Paper:

"Lise Meitner was born in a liberal Viennese family. The Viennese system of education did not allow girls to enter high school. So from 1892 to 1901 she had to struggle a lot to get her education. The government opened high schools for girls in 1899. Lise's father hired a tutor to get her ready for university entrance when she was 21. In two years she completed 8 years' worth of schooling. Around 1905 she began studying radioactivity. She entered the University of Vienna in 1901 and received her doctorate in physics in 1907. She went to Germany to pursue further studies in physics; she stayed there for the next 31 years, adding a lot to German science."