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Biography of Otto Robert FrischName: Otto Robert FrischBirth Date: October 1, 1904 Death Date: 1979 Place of Birth: Vienna, Austria Nationality: Austrian, British Gender: Male Occupations: physicist Otto Robert Frisch The Austrian-British physicist Otto Robert Frisch (1904-1979) was recognized for his significant role in the discovery of nuclear fission.Otto Robert Frisch was born on October 1, 1904, in Vienna, Austria, the son of Justinian and Auguste (Meitner) Frisch. Though his father had a doctorate in law, his mother was an accomplished musician, and the family had intellectual connections, his father was forced by financial circumstances to pursue a career as a printer. Young Frisch thus grew up in a hardworking bourgeois Jewish family of extensive education and high expectations. Educated in a Viennese gymnasium, he learned Latin, Greek, and some arithmetic, but most of his mathematical training was private and personal.At the age of ten his father introduced him to Cartesian coordinates, and within a couple of days he had worked out for himself the equation of the circle. At the age of 12 his father again tutored him, this time in …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…Cambridge, actively working until his retirement in 1972, continuing his research in physics through the use of newer techniques, including bubble chambers, lasers, and computers. The last years of his life were happy and fulfilling. He was, he said in 1979 shortly before his death, "a very lucky man." Among his awards and honors, the two bestowed upon him by his adopted home were most appreciated: the Order of the British Empire--Medal of Freedom (1946) and his election to the Royal Society (1948). Further Reading The only biography available is Frisch's autobiography, What Little I Remember (1979). This work is very rewarding--it does not pretend to be scholarly, but it conveys the excitement of Frisch's life, his humor, and his love of science and his fellow scientists. Frisch has also written works popularizing ideas of modern atomic physics. They are obsolete now, but still worth reading: Meet the Atoms (1947) and Atomic Physics Today (1961). |