Fritz Strassmann

Friedrich Wilhelm Strassmann was a German chemist who made an important discovery in 1938. Working with Otto Hahn, he found that when uranium is hit by tiny particles called neutrons, it can break apart and create a new element called barium. This discovery was a big clue that scientists had finally found something called nuclear fission.

Later, in 1939, Strassmann and Hahn shared more ideas about nuclear fission. They suggested that when fission happens, more neutrons could be released. This idea helped scientists understand how a nuclear chain reaction could be possible, which later led to the development of nuclear power and other important technologies.

Early life

Friedrich Wilhelm (Fritz) Strassmann was born in Boppard, Germany, and grew up in Düsseldorf. He was the youngest of nine children and showed an early interest in chemistry, even doing experiments at home. His family did not have much money, especially after his father passed away when Fritz was young.

Strassmann started his chemistry studies in 1920 at the Technical University of Hannover. He worked as a tutor to help pay for his education. He earned a diploma in chemical engineering in 1924 and later received his PhD in physical chemistry in 1929. His research focused on iodine in carbonic acid. He then joined the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin-Dahlem to study radiochemistry with Otto Hahn. Even after his scholarship ended, he kept working in Hahn's laboratory without pay.

Activities during Nazi rule

Fritz Strassmann left the Society of German Chemists in 1933 when it became controlled by the Nazi government. He was blacklisted and could not work in the chemical industry or become an independent researcher. Lise Meitner helped Otto Hahn find him a job as an assistant. Strassmann and his wife Maria refused to join the Nazi Party and even hid a Jewish musician in their home during World War II, risking their safety.

Strassmann kept working on radiochemistry research during the war but did not help develop weapons. In 1937 and 1938, he and Hahn discovered that barium was produced when uranium was bombarded with neutrons. This surprising result led to the discovery of nuclear fission, explained later by Meitner and Robert Frisch. Hahn received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1944 for this discovery, with Strassmann recognized as an equal partner.

During World War II, Strassmann worked at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute from 1939 to 1946. He studied the products of fission in thorium, uranium, and neptunium, which helped understand the radiochemistry of actinide elements. He also developed methods to date minerals using radioactive elements. In 1942 and 1943, he continued this work on radiometric dating. The institute was bombed in 1944 and temporarily moved to Tailfingen in Württemberg.

Post-war

In April 1945, Otto Hahn and other German scientists were taken away for safety, leaving Fritz Strassmann to lead the chemistry section of their institute. In 1946, Strassmann became a professor of inorganic and nuclear chemistry at the University of Mainz.

Strassmann helped build up the university's nuclear chemistry department with very little money and space. He worked closely with students and negotiated for more funding. He also pushed for the university to get special equipment for research, including a neutron generator and a nuclear reactor. In 1967, the Institute for Nuclear Chemistry officially opened.

In 1957, Strassmann joined other scientists in Germany who spoke out against plans to use nuclear weapons in their country's army. He retired in 1970 and passed away in 1980. In 1966, he received a major award in the United States, and in 1985, he was honored in Jerusalem for his good work during a difficult time.

Personal life

Fritz Strassmann married a fellow chemist named Maria Heckter in 1937. They met through a group of young musicians and had a son named Martin. Sadly, Maria passed away from illness in 1956. In 1959, Strassmann married again, this time to a journalist named Irmgard Hartmann, whom he had known for many years through the same musician group. Strassmann also enjoyed playing the violin.