Abstract
The discovery of nuclear fission is the culmination of sustained efforts involving many scientists led by Hahn and Meitner to understand the production of artificial radioactivity induced by neutrons bombarding uranium. The large energy release in this process was almost immediately used for both military and civilian purposes. It also started the largescale funding of scientific research by governments across the world. Nuclear energy is one of the clean sources of energy and contributes very little to global warming.
Similar content being viewed by others
Suggested Reading
A Roy, Resonance, Vol.19, No.8, p.684, 2014.
O Hahn, L Meitner and F Strassmann, Chem. Berichte., Vol.70, p.1374, 1937.
I Curie and P Savitch, Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci., Paris, Vol.208, No.906, p.1643, 1938.
O Hahn and F Strassmann, Naturwissenschaften, Vol.26, p.756, 1938.
Ruth Lewin Sime, Lise Meitner, A Life in Physics, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1996.
O Hahn and F Strassmann, Naturwissenschaften, Vol.27, 11, 1939.
H G Graetzer, The Discovery of Nuclear Fission, Am J. Physics, Vol.32, p.9, 1964.
https://www.aip.org/history/mod/fission/fission1/04.html.
L Meitner and O R Frisch, Nature, Vol.143, p.239–240, 11 Feb, 1939.
O R Frisch, Nature, Vol.143, p.276, 18 Feb, 1939.
N Bohr and J A Wheeler, Physical Review, Vol.56, p.426, 1939.
Alfred O Nier, E T Booth, J R Dunning and A V Grosse, Physical Review, Vol.57, p.546, 1940.
A Roy, Resonance, Vol.20, No.9, 711, 2015.
Proceedings of conference on 75 years of Nuclear Fission, Pramana - J. Phys., Vol.85, Nos.2 and 3, 2015.
Additional material: G Herrmann in Proceedings of conference on Fifty Years Research in Nuclear Fission, Nuclear Physics, Vol.A502, 141c, 1989; S B Manohar, INCAS Bulletin, Vol.VI, No.1, 68 2007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Amit Roy is currently at the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre after working at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Inter-University Accelerator Centre. His research interests are in nuclear, atomic and accelerator physics.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Roy, A. Story of fission. Reson 21, 247–258 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-016-0320-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-016-0320-x