The Path to Nuclear Fission: The Story of Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn

2006 60 min

Overview

A story about the life and turbulent times of Lisa Meitner and Otto Hahn, two exceptional scientists whose remarkable collaboration culminated in the discovery of nuclear fission, the division of the atom that changed the future. The show traces the development of nuclear science in the first half of the twentieth century, Meitner's early struggle for education and her quest to gain a foothold in the world of male-dominated physics, Hahn's initial research and independent discoveries, the collaborative discovery of the two scientists, as co-discoverers and the award of the Nobel Prize only to Hahn.