The Woman Who Split the Atom
The Life of Lise Meitner
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Bestselling author-illustrator Marissa Moss tells the gripping story of Lise Meitner, the physicist who discovered nuclear fission
As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers.
Meitner made groundbreaking strides in the study of radiation, but when Hitler came to power in Germany, she suddenly had to face not only sexism, but also life-threatening anti-Semitism as well. Nevertheless, she persevered and one day made a discovery that rocked the world: the splitting of the atom. While her male lab partner was awarded a Nobel Prize for the achievement, the committee refused to give her any credit.
Suddenly, the race to build the atomic bomb was on—although Meitner was horrified to be associated with such a weapon. “A physicist who never lost her humanity,” Meitner wanted only to figure out how the world works, and advocated for pacifism while others called for war.
The book includes an afterword, author's note, timeline, select terms of physics, glossary of scientists mentioned, endnotes, select bibliography, index, and Marissa Moss’s celebrated drawings throughout. The Woman Who Split the Atom is a fascinating look at Meitner’s fierce passion, integrity, and her lifelong struggle to have her contributions to physics recognized.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moss's (America's Tea Parties: Not One but Four!) accessible biography paints a searing portrait of Jewish physicist Lise Meitner's (1878–1968) most famous and controversial achievement. For most of her career, Meitner worked and lived in relative obscurity due to sexism and antisemitism. Her partner—fellow physicist Otto Hahn, with whom she collaborated for 30 years—frequently devalued her discoveries and took credit for her work, including the splitting of the atom in 1938. Caught in the machinations of WWII and fearing for his reputation, Hahn ends his partnership with Meitner, but colleagues in Copenhagen and Stockholm rescue her from Berlin and Nazi persecution. In the years following the war, Meitner, who had not anticipated the weaponization of her scientific discovery, worked with the United Nations and scientists such as Albert Einstein toward nuclear peace. Moss's engagingly illustrated panels begin each chapter, bolstering the narrative by offering a direct emotional connection to Meitner's work and thoughts. Short, easily digestible chapters capture a little-known pioneer in her field caught in dangerous times, and address nuclear implications that still resonate today. Includes an author's note, photographs, a glossary of physics terms, and more. Ages 10–14.
