Nuclear Exhibit

Buffalo Porter hall

May 1 2012 – August 30, 2012

Who discovered Radioactivity? Was it a man or a woman?

and

Who discovered Nuclear Fission for the Invention of the Atomic Bomb? Was it a man or a woman?

Many people will answer the first questions as 'a woman'; Madame Marie Curie. And they would be wrong! It was poor Antoine Henri Becquerel: poor, because he rarely gets credit for his discovery. Indeed, Marie Curie was a pioneer in research of radioactivity and even coined the term. No Nobel Prize in Physics was ever awarded for the discovery of radioactivity; instead one was given in 1903 for 'pioneering research in radioactivity'. That prize was shared by Antoine Henri Becquerel, Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, her research partner and husband!

The second set of questions is more obscure. Few people know any names in this field. Robert Oppenheimer comes to mind, but he oversaw the construction of the bomb. The actual discovery of nuclear fission of the atomic bomb was credited to 'a man', Otto Haun - and a Nobel Prize was awarded to him for that discovery. Clearly the answer to the second set of questions should be Otto Haun, a man. Or should it? Many scientists believe the actual discoverer was Dr, Lise Meitner, 'a woman' and Haun's partner. In fact, Haun thought that the process was impossible until Meitner demonstrated evidence of its existence. Meitner coined the term Nuclear fission. The reason for the confusion was the fact that Meitner was Jewish and had to flee Germany for Sweden. Yet Meitner and Haun met clandestinely and also exchanged a series of letters. Also Meitner refused an offer to work on the Atomic Bomb project at Los Alamos, declaring that; I will have nothing to do with a bomb!. The entire confusion was discovered by the Americans and Meitner is now known as the "Mother" of Atomic Bomb.

The exhibit will also include Enrico Fermi, "The Father of the Nuclear Age" with his manuscript "Mass in the Theory of Relativity".

The most spectacular item in the exhibit is the report card, in the year 1924 and 1925, of a lowly student of physics who had 4 world famous scientists as teachers. His classes include "Quantum Physics" taught by the "Father of Quantum Physics", Max Planck; "Mathematics of Quantum Theory" by Nobel Prize winner Max von Laue; "The Theory of Relativity" taught by Dr. Albert Einstein; and, yes, a fourth course taught by professor Dr. Lise Meitner!!