Fritz Strassmann facts for kids

Friedrich Wilhelm Strassmann (German: [fʁɪt͡s ˈʃtʁasˌman]; 22 February 1902 – 22 April 1980) was a German chemist. In December 1938, he worked with Otto Hahn to identify the element barium. They found barium was created when uranium was hit with tiny particles called neutrons. This discovery was a key clue. It helped scientists Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch understand a new process. They called it nuclear fission, which is when an atom's nucleus splits apart. Later, in 1939, Strassmann and Hahn also predicted that more neutrons would be released during fission. This idea opened the door to the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction.

Early Life and Education

Fritz Strassmann was born in Boppard, Germany. He was the youngest of nine children. Growing up in Düsseldorf, he became interested in chemistry very early. He even did chemistry experiments at home. His family didn't have much money. His father died young, which made things even harder for them. Because of money, Strassmann had to be careful about where he studied and what subjects he chose.

In 1920, Strassmann began studying chemistry at the Technical University of Hannover. He paid for his studies by tutoring other students. He earned a diploma in chemical engineering in 1924. Then, in 1929, he received his PhD in physical chemistry. His research focused on how iodine reacted in carbonic acid. This work also helped him become skilled in analytical chemistry. Professor Hermann Braune was his main teacher and advisor.

After his PhD, Strassmann received a scholarship. He went to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin-Dahlem in 1929. There, he studied radiochemistry with Otto Hahn. Hahn helped him get his scholarship renewed twice. When his scholarship ended in 1932, Strassmann kept working in Hahn's lab. He didn't get paid, but he also didn't have to pay for his studies.

On July 20, 1937, Strassmann married Maria Heckter, who was also a chemist. Strassmann taught himself to play the violin. He met Maria through a group of young musicians. They had one son, named Martin. Maria Strassmann sadly passed away from cancer in 1956. In 1959, Strassmann married journalist Irmgard Hartmann. She was also part of the same music group.

Standing Up to the Nazis

In 1933, Strassmann bravely resigned from the Society of German Chemists. This was because it became controlled by the Nazi government. As a result, the Nazi regime put him on a blacklist. This meant he couldn't work in the chemical industry. He also couldn't become an independent researcher in Germany at that time. Lise Meitner helped him by encouraging Otto Hahn to hire him. Strassmann became a special assistant to Meitner and Hahn, even though he was paid less. He felt lucky, saying he valued his freedom so much he would "break stones for a living" to keep it.

Strassmann's wife, Maria, supported his decision not to join the Nazi Party. During World War II, they did something very brave. They hid a Jewish musician, Andrea Wolfenstein, in their apartment for several months. This put their own lives and their three-year-old son's life at great risk. Strassmann continued his research in radiochemistry during the war. However, he did not work on developing weapons.

Scientific Discoveries

Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner relied on Strassmann's skills in analytical chemistry. They were studying what happened when uranium was hit with neutrons. Of the three scientists, only Strassmann could fully focus on their experiments. Meitner, who was Jewish, had to leave Nazi Germany. Hahn had many other duties to manage.

Nuclear fission experimental setup, reconstructed at the Deutsches Museum, Munich.

In 1937 and 1938, other scientists, Irène Joliot-Curie and Paul Savič, reported their own findings. They had also bombarded uranium with neutrons. But they couldn't figure out what new substances were formed. Strassmann, working with Hahn, made a big breakthrough. They identified the element barium as a main product. This happened after uranium was hit by neutrons. This result was very surprising. Uranium has an atomic number of 92, while barium has an atomic number of 56. This was a huge difference.

In December 1938, Hahn and Strassmann sent their findings to a science journal. They reported that barium was a product of uranium bombardment. Otto Frisch confirmed their results with his own experiments in January 1939. Frisch and Meitner then explained what Strassmann and Hahn had found. They said it was caused by nuclear fission.

In 1944, Otto Hahn received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering nuclear fission. However, Fritz Strassmann was recognized as an equal partner in this important discovery.

From 1939 to 1946, Strassmann worked at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute. He researched the products of fission from thorium, uranium, and neptunium. This work helped scientists better understand actinide elements.

Strassmann also created ways to figure out the age of minerals. He used the idea of how long it takes for radioactive elements to decay. In 1936 and 1937, Strassmann and Ernst Walling developed the rubidium-strontium method for radiometric dating. Strassmann continued this work in the 1940s. His methods were very important for the field of geochronology, which studies the Earth's age.

Post-War Leadership and Research

During World War II, the Institute where Strassmann worked was bombed. So, it had to move to Tailfingen (now Albstadt). In April 1945, Hahn and other German physicists were taken into custody. They were held in England. While Hahn was away, Strassmann became the director of the chemistry section.

In 1946, Strassmann became a professor. He taught inorganic chemistry and nuclear chemistry at the University of Mainz. The Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute was renamed the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in 1949. It moved to Mainz, Germany. Strassmann became the official director of the institute in 1950.

In 1953, Strassmann decided to step down as director. He wanted to focus more on his research and teaching at the University of Mainz. He worked hard to improve the chemistry department. He also worked directly with students. Strassmann started with very little money and just a few rooms. He convinced the university and a company called BASF to fund a new institute. This institute would focus on nuclear chemistry. He also pushed the German government to fund a neutron generator and a nuclear reactor for research. His creation, the Institute for Nuclear Chemistry, opened on April 3, 1967.

In 1957, Strassmann was one of the Göttingen Eighteen. This was a group of leading nuclear scientists in West Germany. They wrote a manifesto opposing plans to give the German army tactical nuclear weapons.

Strassmann retired in 1970. He passed away on April 22, 1980, in Mainz.

Honors and Recognition

In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson of the United States honored Hahn, Meitner, and Strassmann. They received the Enrico Fermi Award for their work. The International Astronomical Union also named an asteroid after him: 19136 Strassmann.

In 1985, Fritz Strassmann was recognized by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem. He was named Righteous Among the Nations. This honor is given to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Together with his wife Maria, he hid a Jewish woman in their apartment. This act put his family's lives in danger.

See also

In Spanish: Fritz Strassmann para niños