On nuclear fission - photo 1
On nuclear fission - photo 2

On nuclear fission

Sold
$ 2 016
Auction dateClassic
02.02.2024 10:00UTC -04:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
USA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1129654
Lot 36 | On nuclear fission
MEITNER, Lise (1878–1968). "Über die b- und g-Strahlen der Transurane." Offprint from: Annalen der Physik. 5th series, vol. 29. Leipzig, 1937. [With:] MEITNER, Lise (1878–1968), HAHN, Otto (1879–1968) and STRASSMANN, Fritz (1902–1980). "Über die Umwandlungsreihen des Urans, die durch Neutronenbestrahlung erzeugt werden." Offprint from: Zeitschrift für Physik 106. Berlin, 1937.

First editions, rare offprint issues, of two crucial papers leading to Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch’s discovery of nuclear fission. The first Meitner paper is on the radiation of the so-called "transuranic" elements, i.e. those with atomic numbers of 93 or higher, obtained by bombarding uranium with neutrons. While Enrico Fermi, and Meitner’s two colleagues the physical chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann were certain from their experiments that they had detected evidence of transuranic elements, Meitner was not convinced, as the results could not be plausibly explained by nuclear physics. In the first paper, she demonstrated with cloud chamber experiments that the transuranics emitted beta rays only. In the second paper, published in May 1937 and co-authored with Hahn and Strassmann, their differing interpretations are apparent. Meitner, the lead author of the Zeitschrift paper, concluded that "the process must be neutron capture by uranium-238, which leads to three isomeric nuclei of uranium-239. This result is very difficult to reconcile with current concepts of the nucleus." Simultaneously, an almost identical version of the paper was published in the Chemische Berichte, with Hahn as the lead author. He presented a different conclusion, concluding that "Above all, their chemical distinction from all previously known elements needs no further discussion" (translated).

"Hahn presented what appeared to be ironclad chemical evidence for the existence of transuranes. In contrast, Meitner’s work demonstrated that the uranium problem had become much larger, more difficult, and more significant than the discovery of new elements alone ... As the physicist on the Berlin team, Meitner’s task was to incorporate the data from chemistry, radioactivity, and her own physical experiments into a coherent explanation of the nuclear processes. Her report in Zeitschrift für Physik clearly shows how difficult that was" (Sime, Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics, pp 173-174).

A year after these two papers were published, Meitner had to flee Nazi Germany, escaping first to the Netherlands and then immediately flying to Stockholm. Following further evidence of "transuranic" elements announced by Fermi, and Irene Curie’s own investigations, Hahn and Strassmann attempted to verify these experiments. Hahn travelled to Copenhagen where he met with Meitner and Bohr. Meitner instructed Hahn and Strassmann to redo their experiments. When she received the results, proving that barium was produced in the bombardment of uranium with neutrons, and which Hahn had described as the atom "bursting," Meitner and Frisch knew that a new atomic phenomenon had been discovered. Using the Gamow/Bohr "liquid drop" model of the nucleus, and Einstein’s e = mc2 formula, Meitner concluded that nuclear fission was the only possible explanation.

Two volumes, octavo. The first title illustrated from cloud chamber photographs. Original printed self-wrappers (mild toning). Provenance: "Kern" (for "nucleus") in pencil on both front pages.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
26.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
27.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
28.01.2024 13:00 – 17:00
29.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
30.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
31.01.2024 10:00 – 17:00
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

More from Creator

"Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons: A New Type of Nuclear Reaction"
$8 000
“Products of the Fission of the Uranium Nucleus”
“Products of the Fission of the Uranium Nucleus”
$3 000
Hahn,O. u .L.Meitner.
Hahn,O. u .L.Meitner.
€150

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.