Atoms are made up of particles called neutrons, protons and electrons. Electrons have a negative electrical charge, protons have a positive electrical charge, and neutrons have no electrical charge. The neutrons and protons group together in the middle part of the atom, which is called the nucleus. An individual atom atoms will have at least as many neutrons as protons and it will have the same amount of electrons and protons. Atoms have a large amount of energy which holds their nuclei together. Specific isotopes of several different elements can be broken up and will cause a huge about of energy to be release as heat. This reaction of the spitting of the atom is called nuclear fission. Nuclear Fission is a process in which an atom is split
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The first ever successful nuclear fission test was preformed four years later in 1938 by German scientists Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassman. Lise Meitner was forced by the Nazi to leave Germany because her citizenship had been revoked and she moved to Sweden. During her the time in Sweden, Hahn and Fritz wrote to her about an experiment they had recently performed back in Nazi Germany. The experiment consisted of bombarding uranium with neutrons and the result showed that the element was not what they expected. The results showed the element of barium instead of radium. Lise Meitner called this experiment an example of nuclear fission. Many people during this time thought this was amazing feat and beyond belief. When the uranium was bombarded with neutrons the neutrons collided with the atoms in the uranium. This reaction caused the element to split into two fission items which release two or three neutrons in the process. Scientists quickly realized that if the fission reaction also released enough secondary neutrons, a chain reaction could potentially occur. This chain reaction would then releasing enormous amounts of energy. Many scientists worked put their efforts together to produce an atomic bomb. Lise Meitner wanted no part of that work to and was greatly saddened because her discovery had led to such a destructive weapon. She continue her research on nuclear fission reactions and help to build and design the Sweden's first nuclear reactor. In 1944 Otto Hahn won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, but Lise Meitner was never recognized for her important role in the discovery of
The first ever successful nuclear fission test was preformed four years later in 1938 by German scientists Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassman. Lise Meitner was forced by the Nazi to leave Germany because her citizenship had been revoked and she moved to Sweden. During her the time in Sweden, Hahn and Fritz wrote to her about an experiment they had recently performed back in Nazi Germany. The experiment consisted of bombarding uranium with neutrons and the result showed that the element was not what they expected. The results showed the element of barium instead of radium. Lise Meitner called this experiment an example of nuclear fission. Many people during this time thought this was amazing feat and beyond belief. When the uranium was bombarded with neutrons the neutrons collided with the atoms in the uranium. This reaction caused the element to split into two fission items which release two or three neutrons in the process. Scientists quickly realized that if the fission reaction also released enough secondary neutrons, a chain reaction could potentially occur. This chain reaction would then releasing enormous amounts of energy. Many scientists worked put their efforts together to produce an atomic bomb. Lise Meitner wanted no part of that work to and was greatly saddened because her discovery had led to such a destructive weapon. She continue her research on nuclear fission reactions and help to build and design the Sweden's first nuclear reactor. In 1944 Otto Hahn won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, but Lise Meitner was never recognized for her important role in the discovery of