![]() ![]() More recent developments in fission science and technology in addition to historical reflections were topics for two fully days of sessions (April 27 and 28) at the main site of the NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland. ![]() The conference highlighted the early pioneers of the nuclear industry by dedicated a full day (April 26), consisting of two plenary sessions, at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in Washington, DC. The objective of the meeting was to bring together pioneers of the nuclear industry and other scientists and engineers to report on reminiscences of more » the past and on the more recent development in fission science and technology. It therefore seemed appropriate to acknowledge the fifieth anniversary of its discovery by holding a topical meeting entitled, ``Fifty Years with Nuclear Fission,`` in the United States during the year 1989. Since its discovery, the United States, and the world for that matter, has never been the same. The news of the discovery of nuclear fission, by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann in Germany, was brought to the United States by Niels Bohr in January 1939. The role played by Mendeleev's Periodic Table, the role of the natural radioactive decay chain of uranium, the discovery of protactinium, the apparent discovery of masurium (technetium) and a speculation on the reason why Irene Curie may have missed the discovery of nuclear fission will all be discussed. The events which led up to the discovery are recounted, with an attempt made to put them into their historical perspective. Why did it take an additional five years before anyone realized what had occurred This is an abnormally long time in a period when discoveries, more » particularly in nuclear physics, seemed to be almost a daily occurrence. A paper which speculated on fission as an explanation was almost immediately published, yet no one took it seriously not even the author herself. The first experiments resulting in the fission of uranium took place in 1934. In the early 1930's, the neutron was discovered, followed by the discovery of artificial radioactivity and then the use of the neutron to produce artificial radioactivity. This year marks the Fiftieth Anniversary of the discovery of Nuclear Fission. ![]()
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