Seif Eldin Hazem and Ahmed Abdullah

Mrs. / Sara

El Massria integrated school/chemistry department

17 May 2023

beyond uranium

The discovery of artificial uranium transmutation in 1934 sparked enormous enthusiasm in

science.

By 1939, nuclear physicists and chemists had combined to produce an astonishing explanation for
the unexplained effects of uranium's forced transmutation.

The discovery of artificial uranium transmutation in 1934 created tremendous excitement in the
scientific community.

By 1939, nuclear physicists and chemists had collaborated to offer an astounding explanation for
the hitherto unknown effects of uranium's forced transformation.

Curiosity in Berlin

Lisa Meniter, a scientist in Berlin, was drawn to Fermi's experiment. Meniter, knowing she
couldn't accomplish the laborious operation of chemically separating radionuclides, encouraged a
colleague, radiochemist Otta Hahn, to assist her in explaining Fermi's conclusion. Fritz
Strassmann, an excellent chemical analyzer, joins us.

Like all other scientists at the time, Meitner's team started with two incorrect assumptions. The
first involved the composition of the blasted nuclei; in every nuclear reaction observed, the
resultant nucleus was never more than a few protons or neutrons different from the original.

The second assumption considered the transuranes' periodicity.

Indeed, by 1937, Hahn was certain that the chemical evidence for transuranes corroborated their
position in the periodic table.
Meitner’s exile

By 1938, the political situation in Germany had grown hazardous for Meitner, who was of Jewish
heritage and had fled to Sweden to avoid prosecution. Meanwhile, Hahn and Stressmann, both of
whom were critical of the Nazis, had to be cautious while being restricted by the Nazis, Meitner's
team and continued to interact via letters. Meitner was unable to come up with a satisfactory
physical explanation for Hahn and Strassmann's chemical conclusion, and she requested that her
colleagues reconsider their findings. They swiftly ran a control experiment to test their findings.

a shocking discovery

Meitner, Hahn, and Stressmann were prompted to realize that they had been seeking the cause of
their results in the incorrect location. They discovered the essential evidence they were looking
for by analyzing a portion of a solution test that they had previously missed. The investigation
revealed that barium looked to be the consequence of uranium neutron bombardment. After
consulting with her nephew, Otto Frisch, Hahn wrote to Meitner for an explanation. Meitner
hypothesized that the uranium nuclei had been split off into Elemental bits, one of which was
barium, Ba.

at the end.

Because of wartime politics, The Talented Hahn was awarded the 1944 Noble Prize in chemistry
for the discovery of unexpected phenomena that Meitner named nuclear fission; however, Lise
Meitner did not receive the corresponding award in physics; it was not until well after her death
in 1968 that she was probably recognized for her role in clarifying the process that she first
explained and named.

Works Cited
Chemistry book page 668-669