2021-07-28 Wed

Otto Hahn was a German chemist who, with the radiochemist Fritz Strassmann, is credited with the discovery of nuclear fission.

A graduate of the University of Marburg, Hahn studied under Sir William Ramsay at University College London, and at McGill University in Montreal under Ernest Rutherford, where he discovered several new radioactive isotopes. He returned to Germany in 1906, and Emil Fischer placed a former woodworking shop in the basement of the Chemical Institute at the University of Berlin at his disposal to use as a laboratory. Hahn completed his habilitation in the spring of 1907 and became a Privatdozent.

In 1912, he became head of the Radioactivity Department of the newly founded Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry. Working with the Austrian physicist Lise Meitner in the building that now bears their names, he made a series of groundbreaking discoveries.

They discovered radioactive isotopes of radium, thorium, protactinium and uranium 1938, Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann discovered nuclear fission, for which Hahn received the 1944 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Nuclear fission was the basis for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.

Here is an image of 5 DM coin issued by Germany, honouring Hahn and his discovery of fission, 1979. He also featured on a stamp issued by the German Democratic Republic.

Image Source: Wikipedia.org