Sanity
Josiah Martin
Senior Inquiry 3rd hour
March 9, 2016
Sanity
Otto Hahn
(1879-1968)
Notable Accomplishments
Otto Hahn was a German chemist, born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1879 (atomicarchive.com). According to the Atomic Heritage Foundation, he discovered nuclear fission inadvertently by an experiment involving uranium. They explain that in the experiment, the uranium atom split into the element barium; therefore, nuclear fission was originated. Hahn won the Nobel Prize in 1994 for his discovery of nuclear fission (Atomic Heritage Foundation).
Hahn was recognized and honored in various ways in life and after death. According to atomicarchive.com, Hahn was elected as the Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry shortly after becoming a member of the institute. There was also the Nobel Prize as stated earlier. Another intriguing honor was a nuclear-powered merchant ship (there are only a few in existence) that was named Otto Hahn in honor of the great scientist (atomicarchive.com).
Impact on our World Today
Otto Hahn discovered one of the biggest up and coming technologies in today's world, nuclear fission. With nuclear fission, scientists have created numerous methods and technologies that benefit our lives today. Nuclear fission has its pros and cons, however. It opened up the door for nuclear energy, which is one of the up and coming versions of generating energy (Famous Scientists: The Art of Genius). Once nuclear energy is able to overcome the political and the redundant "go-green" barriers it will be one of the cleanest and most efficient forms of energy available. On the contrary, nuclear fission also led to the development of one of the most dangerous weapons in the history of mankind, the atomic bomb (Atomic Heritage Foundation). The atomic bomb is capable of mass devastation, and Hahn provided the stepping stones to creating such a weapon. All in all, Hahn began a process of advancement in a field that is only as limited as the human race chooses to limit it.
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |