Sheril KirshenbaumOct 2, 2023

Very pleased to see NYT acknowledge Lise Meitner.

Meitner developed the theory of nuclear fission & newly translated letters show she was barred from sharing credit for the Nobel Prize-winning discovery because she was Jewish & a woman. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/science/lise-meitner-fission-nobel.html?unlocked_article_code=JGbPgv1zYxrgU0vMDkmURf0UPTTjuLHgCJ7dTnWeFmWslaXwaWhZQ2CW6dr-HuF0MeGqXSfyQV0XyOgw7VTABLw9yJxUG8Jd9xQMrPqsNiNcVd3g1GwsxckwQMW5awE4g9aTqtT-TQbgs1PG5BpMDmUsqcAuapMB798_kyVYaEEXUwILTeojASGJ6ZvwXa5e-LpMvbl3o47_ZtX4JPzngzAvKys52S_L9v2O8h3vH0JYmLSlYmeokZCyl1NmKI_ZXmKyeExgLGB165ODtBkLtFvRRkCofN7uTN2imyfz20LJtbVEy1RdwZ6hqJZf8pvRMlD8yz-OjfYq7wLSbNw5k4zs0hAs&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare #science #history #HistoryRemix

Lise Meitner, the ‘Atomic Pioneer’ Who Never Won a Nobel Prize

Lise Meitner developed the theory of nuclear fission, the process that enabled the atomic bomb. But her identity — Jewish and a woman — barred her from sharing credit for the discovery, newly translated letters show.

The New York Times
Robert LaingOct 2, 2023
Show threadSheril Kirshenbaum

I do have one small quibble with the NYT piece. The headline calls Meitner the “Mother of the Atomic Bomb.”

No. Meitner helped discover nuclear fission & foresaw its dangerous potential. BUT she refused to work on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, famously declaring, “I will have nothing to do with a bomb!”

Her gravestone reads, “Lise Meitner: a physicist who never lost her humanity.” /2

Oct 2, 2023 at 7:41pmMetatext
Show threadGreenSkyOverMe (Monika)Oct 2, 2023

@Sheril Yay!

I went to Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium (grade 5-13 school) and next to us was Lise-Meitner-Realschule (grade 5-10 school). There was a big split atom in front, made of stone.

Show threadNeilOct 2, 2023
@Sheril Clearly Meitner took issue with this label. Using it in a headline, even with scare quotes, perpetuates the disservice done to her.
Show threadRobert Roy BrittOct 3, 2023
@Sheril I was peeved by the lack of recognition afforded her but did not know I should also be peeved by the headline (and the source for it). Now I’m twice peeved. Thank you.
Show threaddrdindOct 3, 2023
@Sheril the article is clear, but the headline really did muff it
Show threadcultdevOct 3, 2023
@Sheril the times sucks
Show threadElizabethOct 3, 2023
@Sheril it is a huge question. She’s the forebear in the sense that her work led proximally to its construction. So can we make things with a range of purposes and be held accountable when a predictable destructive use is created from it. Some of us have analogous things like that in our work so it’s something to think about. Not so easy if I’m honest.