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Lise Meitner was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, in 1878 and was initially named Elise.
Answer: True
Explanation: Lise Meitner, originally named Elise Meitner, was born on November 7, 1878, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary.
Lise Meitner's father, Philipp Meitner, was a renowned physicist who supervised her early academic work.
Answer: False
Explanation: Philipp Meitner, Lise's father, was a lawyer and chess master, not a physicist who supervised her academic work.
Raised as a freethinker, Lise Meitner never formally adopted any religious affiliation in adulthood.
Answer: False
Explanation: While raised as a freethinker, Lise Meitner converted to Lutheranism and was baptized in 1908.
As a woman in late 19th-century Vienna, Lise Meitner faced no significant barriers to attending public higher education institutions.
Answer: False
Explanation: Women were prohibited from attending public higher education institutions in Vienna until 1897, necessitating private tutoring for Meitner to qualify for university.
Lise Meitner's doctoral research at the University of Vienna was influenced by the lectures of physicist Ludwig Boltzmann.
Answer: True
Explanation: Ludwig Boltzmann's lectures at the University of Vienna were a significant inspiration for Lise Meitner during her academic pursuits.
Lise Meitner earned her doctorate in physics from the University of Vienna on February 1, 1906, becoming the second woman to receive such a degree there.
Answer: True
Explanation: Lise Meitner successfully defended her doctoral thesis and was awarded her doctorate in physics from the University of Vienna on February 1, 1906, marking her as the second woman to achieve this distinction at the institution.
Meitner's doctoral thesis focused on the theoretical aspects of nuclear fission.
Answer: False
Explanation: Lise Meitner's doctoral thesis, completed in 1906, was on the subject of 'Thermal Conduction in Inhomogeneous Bodies,' not nuclear fission.
Meitner's early scientific curiosity was evident in childhood, as she meticulously recorded observations in a notebook.
Answer: True
Explanation: Lise Meitner's childhood fascination with scientific phenomena, such as the iridescent colors in oil slicks, was documented in her notebooks, indicating an early and persistent scientific curiosity.
Due to gender discrimination, Lise Meitner was initially unable to access the main laboratories at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin.
Answer: True
Explanation: Gender discrimination in academia at the time meant that Lise Meitner initially had to work in a separate facility at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, being denied access to the main laboratories.
When and where was Lise Meitner born?
Answer: Vienna, Austria-Hungary in 1878
Explanation: Lise Meitner was born Elise Meitner on November 7, 1878, in Vienna, Austria-Hungary.
What was the profession of Lise Meitner's father, Philipp Meitner?
Answer: A lawyer and chess master.
Explanation: Philipp Meitner, Lise Meitner's father, was a lawyer and a distinguished chess master.
What significant change occurred in Lise Meitner's religious life in 1908?
Answer: She converted to Lutheranism and was baptized.
Explanation: In 1908, Lise Meitner converted to Lutheranism and underwent baptism, a significant personal and religious transition.
Which barrier did Lise Meitner have to overcome to attend university in Vienna?
Answer: Restrictions preventing women from attending public higher education institutions.
Explanation: As a woman in late 19th-century Vienna, Lise Meitner faced significant institutional barriers, as women were barred from public higher education until 1897.
Who delivered lectures that significantly inspired Lise Meitner during her university studies?
Answer: Ludwig Boltzmann
Explanation: Ludwig Boltzmann's lectures at the University of Vienna were a profound source of inspiration for Lise Meitner during her university education.
What was the title of Lise Meitner's doctoral thesis?
Answer: Thermal Conduction in Inhomogeneous Bodies
Explanation: Lise Meitner's doctoral thesis, completed in 1906, was titled 'Thermal Conduction in Inhomogeneous Bodies'.
What was the significance of Lise Meitner's habilitation in Prussia in 1922?
Answer: It qualified her as the first woman university lecturer in physics in Prussia.
Explanation: Lise Meitner's habilitation in Prussia in 1922 was a landmark achievement, qualifying her as the first woman university lecturer in physics in Prussia.
Lise Meitner achieved the distinction of being the first woman to hold a full professorship in physics in Germany, starting in 1926.
Answer: True
Explanation: In 1926, Lise Meitner was appointed an extraordinary professor of physics at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, making her the first woman to achieve a full professorship in physics in Germany.
The Nuremberg Laws, enacted in 1935, led to Lise Meitner's dismissal from her professorship in Germany.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which targeted Jewish citizens, resulted in Lise Meitner's dismissal from her professorship in Germany.
Lise Meitner fled Germany in 1938 with the assistance of physicist Dirk Coster and later became a citizen of Sweden.
Answer: True
Explanation: In 1938, physicist Dirk Coster aided Lise Meitner in her escape from Germany, after which she settled in Sweden and later became a citizen.
In which German city did Lise Meitner spend a significant portion of her scientific career?
Answer: Berlin
Explanation: Lise Meitner conducted a substantial portion of her groundbreaking scientific career in Berlin, primarily at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry.
What groundbreaking academic position did Lise Meitner achieve in Germany in 1926?
Answer: First woman to become a full professor of physics.
Explanation: In 1926, Lise Meitner attained the significant academic milestone of becoming the first woman to hold a full professorship in physics in Germany.
Why was Lise Meitner dismissed from her professorship in 1935?
Answer: As a consequence of the Nuremberg Laws targeting Jewish people.
Explanation: Lise Meitner's dismissal from her professorship in 1935 was a direct result of the Nuremberg Laws, which targeted Jewish individuals.
Which physicist assisted Lise Meitner in her escape from Nazi Germany in 1938?
Answer: Dirk Coster
Explanation: Physicist Dirk Coster was instrumental in assisting Lise Meitner with her escape from Nazi Germany in 1938.
In 1938, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann experimentally observed that bombarding gold with neutrons produced isotopes of uranium.
Answer: False
Explanation: Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann's 1938 experiments involved bombarding uranium with neutrons, which resulted in the production of barium isotopes, not the bombardment of gold to produce uranium.
Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch collaborated to provide the theoretical explanation for the experimental results observed by Hahn and Strassmann, naming the process 'fission'.
Answer: True
Explanation: Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch collaborated to provide the theoretical framework for the experimental findings of Hahn and Strassmann, coining the term 'fission' to describe the splitting of the atomic nucleus.
The term 'nuclear fission' was coined by Otto Hahn in his 1938 experiments.
Answer: False
Explanation: The term 'fission' was coined by Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch in their 1939 publication, not by Otto Hahn in his 1938 experiments.
The discovery of nuclear fission led directly to the development of nuclear reactors for energy production but had no connection to weaponry.
Answer: False
Explanation: The discovery of nuclear fission was pivotal in the development of both nuclear reactors for energy and atomic bombs for military purposes.
Meitner and Frisch used George Gamow's liquid-drop model to explain the process of nuclear fission.
Answer: True
Explanation: Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch utilized George Gamow's liquid-drop model to provide a theoretical explanation for the phenomenon of nuclear fission.
What experimental observation by Hahn and Strassmann in 1938 was crucial for the discovery of nuclear fission?
Answer: Bombarding uranium with neutrons produced barium isotopes.
Explanation: The crucial experimental observation by Hahn and Strassmann in 1938 was that bombarding uranium with neutrons resulted in the production of barium isotopes.
What term did Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch coin to describe the splitting of the uranium nucleus?
Answer: Fission
Explanation: Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch coined the term 'fission' to describe the process of the uranium nucleus splitting into lighter elements.
Which of the following was a major technological outcome of the discovery of nuclear fission?
Answer: The development of atomic bombs.
Explanation: A significant technological outcome stemming from the discovery of nuclear fission was the development of atomic bombs.
What theoretical model did Meitner and Frisch utilize to explain nuclear fission?
Answer: The liquid-drop model of the nucleus
Explanation: Meitner and Frisch employed the liquid-drop model of the nucleus, developed by George Gamow, to elucidate the process of nuclear fission.
How did Meitner and Frisch calculate the energy released during nuclear fission?
Answer: By calculating the mass difference between reactants and products using E=mc².
Explanation: Meitner and Frisch calculated the energy released during nuclear fission by applying Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle (E=mc²) to the difference in mass between the initial nucleus and the fission products.
Otto Hahn was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in the discovery of nuclear fission, while Lise Meitner was excluded.
Answer: True
Explanation: Otto Hahn received the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission; Lise Meitner's exclusion from this award, despite her crucial theoretical contributions, is a notable point of historical contention.
Lise Meitner received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945 for her work on nuclear fission.
Answer: False
Explanation: Lise Meitner was nominated for the Nobel Prize multiple times but never received one. Otto Hahn was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission.
Albert Einstein referred to Lise Meitner as the 'German Marie Curie' in recognition of her scientific stature.
Answer: True
Explanation: Albert Einstein recognized Lise Meitner's significant scientific standing by referring to her as the 'German Marie Curie'.
Lise Meitner strongly advocated for the use of atomic bombs during World War II.
Answer: False
Explanation: Lise Meitner was a staunch opponent of the development and use of atomic bombs, expressing sorrow over their invention.
Lise Meitner considered her decision to remain in Germany between 1933 and 1938 a 'moral failing'.
Answer: True
Explanation: Lise Meitner reflected on her period of residence in Germany from 1933 to 1938 as a 'moral failing,' regretting her perceived inaction during the rise of the Nazi regime.
Following the Nobel Prize controversy, Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn ceased all communication and collaboration.
Answer: False
Explanation: Despite the controversy surrounding the Nobel Prize, Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn maintained a lifelong close friendship and continued to communicate.
In 1997, element 109 was named meitnerium (Mt) in honor of Lise Meitner.
Answer: True
Explanation: In recognition of her profound contributions to nuclear physics, element 109 was officially named meitnerium (Mt) in 1997.
Lise Meitner contributed to the development of Sweden's first nuclear reactor, known as R1.
Answer: True
Explanation: During her time in Sweden, Lise Meitner contributed to the development of R1, the nation's first nuclear reactor.
Lise Meitner was jointly awarded the Enrico Fermi Award in 1966 with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann.
Answer: True
Explanation: In 1966, Lise Meitner, along with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, received the prestigious Enrico Fermi Award from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for their groundbreaking work on nuclear fission.
The inscription on Lise Meitner's headstone reads: 'Scientist, Pioneer, Humanitarian.'
Answer: False
Explanation: The inscription on Lise Meitner's headstone reads: 'Lise Meitner: a physicist who never lost her humanity.'
Who was Lise Meitner and what was her primary scientific contribution?
Answer: An Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist who provided the theoretical interpretation of nuclear fission.
Explanation: Lise Meitner was an Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist renowned for her theoretical interpretation of nuclear fission, a pivotal discovery in atomic physics.
Who received the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission?
Answer: Otto Hahn
Explanation: Otto Hahn was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in the discovery of nuclear fission.
How many times was Lise Meitner nominated for a Nobel Prize according to the source?
Answer: 49
Explanation: Lise Meitner received 49 nominations for the Nobel Prize across various years, underscoring the significant recognition of her scientific contributions.
What nickname did Albert Einstein bestow upon Lise Meitner?
Answer: The German Marie Curie
Explanation: Albert Einstein acknowledged Lise Meitner's scientific stature by referring to her as the 'German Marie Curie'.
What was Lise Meitner's attitude towards the use of atomic bombs?
Answer: She was strongly opposed to their development and use.
Explanation: Lise Meitner held a strong ethical opposition to the development and deployment of atomic bombs, famously stating her regret over their invention.
What did Lise Meitner refer to as her 'moral failing' concerning her time in Nazi Germany?
Answer: Her failure to protest the regime more forcefully.
Explanation: Lise Meitner described her perceived inaction and failure to protest more forcefully against the Nazi regime during her time in Germany (1933-1938) as a 'moral failing'.
Despite the Nobel Prize controversy, what was the nature of the relationship between Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn?
Answer: They maintained a lifelong close friendship.
Explanation: Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the Nobel Prize, Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn sustained a close friendship throughout their lives.
What honor was bestowed upon Lise Meitner in 1997?
Answer: The element meitnerium (Mt) was named in her honor.
Explanation: In 1997, element 109 was named meitnerium (Mt) in honor of Lise Meitner, a posthumous recognition of her scientific legacy.
Which of the following describes Lise Meitner's personal life choices regarding family?
Answer: She dedicated her life almost entirely to science and never married.
Explanation: Lise Meitner's personal life was characterized by her singular dedication to science; she never married and devoted herself almost entirely to her research.
What was the 'Frisch-Peierls memorandum' significant for?
Answer: Establishing the theoretical feasibility of an atomic explosion.
Explanation: The Frisch-Peierls memorandum was significant for establishing the theoretical feasibility of an atomic explosion, thereby contributing to wartime nuclear research efforts.
What factors are suggested by the source as potential reasons for Meitner's exclusion from the Nobel Prize?
Answer: Disciplinary bias, difficulty assessing interdisciplinary work, and wartime constraints.
Explanation: Potential reasons cited for Lise Meitner's exclusion from the Nobel Prize include disciplinary bias, challenges in assessing interdisciplinary contributions, and wartime constraints on information.
How did Lise Meitner react to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Answer: She expressed sorrow over the invention of the bomb.
Explanation: Lise Meitner reacted to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with sorrow, famously stating her regret over their invention.
What is the significance of element 109 being named Meitnerium (Mt)?
Answer: It makes her the only non-mythological woman exclusively honored by an element's name.
Explanation: The naming of element 109 as meitnerium (Mt) holds particular significance as it honors Lise Meitner as the only non-mythological woman exclusively recognized by an element's name.
Lise Meitner, an Austrian-Swedish physicist, primarily focused on experimental research in radioactivity, contributing significantly to Ernest Rutherford's nuclear atom model.
Answer: True
Explanation: Lise Meitner's early experimental work in radioactivity, particularly her investigations into alpha particles, provided valuable data that contributed to Ernest Rutherford's development of the nuclear model of the atom.
The Auger-Meitner effect, concerning electron emission from atomic shells, was discovered independently by Lise Meitner and Pierre Victor Auger.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Auger-Meitner effect, which describes the emission of electrons from atomic shells, was independently identified by Lise Meitner and Pierre Victor Auger.
The Auger-Meitner effect relates to which physical phenomenon?
Answer: The emission of electrons from atomic shells.
Explanation: The Auger-Meitner effect pertains to the physical phenomenon of electron emission from atomic shells.