Fritz Strassmann

Fritz Strassmann
Born
Friedrich Wilhelm Strassmann

22 February 1902
Died22 April 1980 (aged 78)
NationalityGerman
EducationTechnical University of Hannover
Known forCo-discovery of Nuclear fission
AwardsEnrico Fermi Award (1966)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysicist, Chemist
InstitutionsKaiser-Wilhelm Institutes
University of Mainz
Doctoral advisorHermann Braune

Friedrich Wilhelm Strassmann (German: [fʁɪt͡s ˈʃtʁasˌman] ; 22 February 1902 – 22 April 1980) was a German chemist who, with Otto Hahn in December 1938, identified the element barium as a product of the bombardment of uranium with neutrons. Their observation was the key piece of evidence necessary to identify the previously unknown phenomenon of nuclear fission, as was subsequently recognized and published by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch.[1] In their second publication on nuclear fission in February 1939, Strassmann and Hahn predicted the existence and liberation of additional neutrons during the fission process, opening up the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction.

  1. ^ "Hitler and the Bomb". New York Times. 11 December 1988.