Lise Meitner and the beta-ray energy controversy: An historical perspective
Abstract
Much has been written about the early history of beta-ray research and the controversy it provoked. Many prominent physicists lent their talents to the solution of this puzzling problem. One of the foremost of these was Lise Meitner, conspicuous in the fray not only because of her creative experimental work, but also because of her attachment to a physical principle—the simplicity of nature. This article reviews the sequence of events as they preceded, coincided with, and followed her work on the subject.
- Publication:
-
American Journal of Physics
- Pub Date:
- June 1983
- DOI:
- 10.1119/1.13201
- Bibcode:
- 1983AmJPh..51..551W
- Keywords:
-
- 01.65.+g;
- 01.60.+q;
- 23.40.Bw;
- 14.60.Cd;
- History of science;
- Biographies tributes personal notes and obituaries;
- Weak-interaction and lepton aspects;
- Electrons