Public Figure Profiles

Lise Meitner

Elise Meitner was a leading Austrian-Swedish physicist who was one of those responsible for the discovery of the element protactinium and nuclear fission. While working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute on radioactivity, she discovered the radioactive isotope protactinium-231 in 1917. In 1938, Meitner and her nephew, the physicist Otto Robert Frisch, discovered nuclear fission. She was praised by Albert Einstein as the "German Marie Curie".Completing her doctoral research in 1905, Meitner became the second woman from the University of Vienna to earn a doctorate in physics. She spent most of her scientific career in Berlin, Germany, where she was a physics professor and a department head at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute; she was the first woman to become a full professor of physics in Germany. She lost these positions in the 1930s because of the anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany, and in 1938 she fled to Sweden, where she lived for many years, ultimately becoming a Swedish citizen.

In mid-1938, Meitner with chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute found that bombarding thorium with neutrons produced different isotopes. Hahn and Strassmann later in the year showed that isotopes of barium could be formed by bombardment of uranium. In late December, Meitner and Frisch worked out the phenomenon of such a splitting process. In their report in February issue of Nature in 1939, they gave it the name "fission". This principle led to the development of the first atomic bomb during World War II, and subsequently other nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors.

Meitner received many awards and honours late in her life, but she did not share the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for nuclear fission, which was awarded exclusively to her long-time collaborator Otto Hahn. Several scientists and journalists have called her exclusion "unjust". According to the Nobel Prize archive, she was nominated 19 times for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry between 1924 and 1948, and 29 times for the Nobel Prize in Physics between 1937 and 1965. Despite not having been awarded the Nobel Prize, Meitner was invited to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in 1962. However, Meitner received many other honours, including the naming of chemical element 109 meitnerium in 1997.

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Some of their strengths

Lise Meitner has many admirable traits.

Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Generous, Optimistic, Passionate, Brave, Honest, Energetic, and Hardworking.

Intense and Passionate

According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Lise Meitner is someone who is an intense, passionate, and intuitive person who is fiercely independent, authentic and direct when engaging with others. A person who defines themself by their friends and what groups they belong to.

Helpful and Supportive

Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Lise Meitner well know them as someone who can be accepting, supportive, and productive, like a garden.

Optimistic and Frank

According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Lise Meitner as someone who is optimistic, principled, adventurous, and direct.

A person who isn't shy about expressing their opinions, loves competition, loves learning things themself, who is known for being inventive and original, and who loves being surrounded by friends and loved ones.

Courageous and Strong

Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Lise Meitner is someone who is a risk-taker and a pioneer who only gets stronger through the hardships that are encountered in life.

They are also someone who is confident and creative, and who has a love for starting new projects, inventing new things, and giving back to the community.

Mysterious and Methodical

According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Lise Meitner tends to be someone who can come across as mysterious and intense, who can be a complex thinker who is methodical and intuitive, and who can overcome challenges that most others would not be able to.

Some of Lise Meitner's challenges

While Lise Meitner has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.

For example, Lise Meitner can be Stubborn, Complicated, Brusque, Short-tempered, Impulsive, Suspicious, and Pushy.

Complicated and Brusque

One of Lise Meitner's key challenges is that they are someone who can be complicated and gruff with others.

Pushy and Restless

Lise Meitner is someone who can be arrogant and bossy, who can have difficulty concentrating and focusing, be unable to separate emotions from business decisions, and who can engage in excessive spending in support of an expensive lifestyle and habits.

Sensitive and Aggressive

Finally, Lise Meitner also can be too "touchy-feely", have a hard time expressing feelings, be too aggressive and headstrong, and be too unforgiving of others' mistakes.

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