Judy AlbersOct 5, 2023
Sheril Kirshenbaum

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
Oct 2, 2023 at 7:29pmMetatext
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumOct 2, 2023

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

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.
Show threadAhimsaOct 2, 2023

@Sheril The "Lost Women of Science" podcast just did a 2 part episode about her, part of their "Lost Women of the Manhattan Project" series.

(transcripts available)

Part 1: https://www.lostwomenofscience.org/season-6-episodes/lise-meitner

Part 2: https://www.lostwomenofscience.org/season-6-episodes/why-did-lise-meitner-never-receive-the-nobel-prize-for-splitting-the-atom-part-2

#Science #History #Women #Podcast #ManhattanProject

Why Did Lise Meitner Never Receive the Nobel Prize for Splitting the Atom?

New translations of Meitner’s letters show that antisemitism before and after World War II robbed Meitner of the 1944 Nobel Prize that went to her long-time collaborator chemist Otto Hahn.

Show threadmyrmidonOct 2, 2023
@Sheril Marie Cutie was Jewish & a woman too.
Show threade. hashman 🇵🇸Oct 3, 2023

@myrmidon @Sheril Marie Curie was an agnostic Catholic and her husband was also Catholic, not sure where you're getting this from.

Lise Meitner was born into a Jewish family but converted to Lutheranism as an adult and was buried in a church; it is also inaccurate to refer to her as Jewish.

Show threadmyrmidonOct 3, 2023
@ehashman @Sheril From a number of french books, newspaper articles that Google will happily point you to 😉
That’s also what I learnt when I was a student (in France).
Show threade. hashman 🇵🇸Oct 3, 2023
@myrmidon @Sheril That the French press made up baseless accusations that Curie was Jewish to stoke xenophobic, antisemitic sentiment against her? I'm surprised to hear this hasn't been widely debunked a century later. The American Institute of Physics has pretty detailed history on this here. https://history.aip.org/exhibits/curie/scandal1.htm
Marie Curie and the Science of Radioactivity

This web exhibit from the American Institute of Physics explores the life and science of Marie Curie, from her childhood to the discovery of radium.

Show threadmyrmidonOct 3, 2023
@ehashman @Sheril No, nothing antisemitic, there is no shame to be Jewish. Why put ugly politics here ?
Marie Cutie is Polish/French so I’ll stick to history made locally (I think we know better !). She is one of the most revered person in France btw.
Show threadmyrmidonOct 3, 2023
@ehashman @Sheril this curious page talks about the press at the time (Dreyfus, … DARK hours of our country.)
I referring to modern litterature and press, at a time where her remains at at The Panthéon. It might mean nothing for you but that’s a huge deal and well deserved.
So it’s not about shame, it’s about pride.
Show threadTipOct 3, 2023

@Sheril

I'm glad I added Lise Meitner to my physics course after the last time you mentioned her. This year I have my first ever all girl physics class!

Show threadJeff DarlingOct 3, 2023
@Sheril thank you for sharing that. Reading a biography of Meitner when I was in my early 20s was transformative.
Show threaddrdindOct 3, 2023
@Sheril yes. It was a serious omission from the Oppenheimer film and, of course, from much of the history of nuclear science.
Show threadΨ*ΨOct 3, 2023
@Sheril I am still hopeful she can be widely credited for some of her other discoveries #MeitnerEffect #MeitnerElectrons