The Institute for Radium Research is an Austrian research institute associated with the Austrian Academy of Sciences,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The Institute's researchers won multiple Nobel Prizes. Due to the gradual change of interests, "nuclear physics" was added to the institute's name in 1956. Since 2004, it is called the ''Stefan-Meyer-Institute for subatomic physics''.

History

The Sankt Joachimsthal mines were located within the

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

monarchy, and were the largest producers of uranium containing ore at the end of the 19th century. Eduard Suess sent the first samples of

pitchblende Uraninite, formerly pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium causes t ...

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

and

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

for their research on radioactive materials. This action was taken after the advice of Franz Serafin Exner. After the discovery of

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rathe ...

, the Austrian industrial Karl Kupelwieser donated 500,000 Austrian kronen to found an institute for research on radium in 1908. After constructing the building for the institute in 1909–1910, the institute was opened on 28 October 1910. Stefan Meyer became the first acting director, and Franz Serafin Exner was the director of the institute until Meyer took over in 1920. Meyer stayed in that position until the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

Österreichs in 1938, the annexation of Austria by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, forced him to retire due to his Jewish ancestors.St. Sienell und Chr. Ottner: ''Das Archiv des Instituts für Radiumforschung'', Anzeiger der Österr. Akad. d. Wissenschaften Abt. II, 140, 11-53 (2004) After the war, he was reinstated as director and performed his duties until his retirement in 1947. The starting years were dominated by the research on the new element radium. Meyer was able to organize the production of 4

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

radium, as recommended in 1901 by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The chemical plant of

Carl Auer von Welsbach Carl Auer von Welsbach (1 September 1858 – 4 August 1929), who received the Austrian noble title of Freiherr Auer von Welsbach in 1901, was an Austrian scientist and inventor, who separated didymium into the elements neodymium and praseo ...

, which was used to produce

rare-earth element The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or (in context) rare-earth oxides or sometimes the lanthanides ( yttrium and scandium are usually included as rare earths), are a set of 17 nearly-indistinguishable lustrous silv ...

s, provided the necessary technical equipment and knowledge required for separation of small quantities of material from ore. This relative large amount made it possible for

Otto Hönigschmid Otto Hönigschmid (13 March 1878 in Hořovice – 14 October 1945 in Munich) was a Czech/Austrian chemist. He published the first widely accepted experimental proof of isotopes along with Stefanie Horovitz. Throughout his career he worked to ...

to determine the molecular mass of radium using 1.5 g of

radium bromide Radium bromide is the bromide salt of radium, with the formula RaBr2. It is produced during the process of separating radium from uranium ore. This inorganic compound was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898, and the discovery sparked a hug ...

Victor Franz Hess Victor Franz Hess (; 24 June 188317 December 1964) was an Austrian-American physicist, and Nobel laureate in physics, who discovered cosmic rays. Biography He was born to Vinzenz Hess and Serafine Edle von Grossbauer-Waldstätt, in Waldstein ...

was working on the absorption of

gamma ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

s in the atmosphere. His discovery of

cosmic ray Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...

s in 1912, which was rewarded by the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

in 1936, was a direct result of his work in the institute.

George de Hevesy George Charles de Hevesy (born György Bischitz; hu, Hevesy György Károly; german: Georg Karl von Hevesy; 1 August 1885 – 5 July 1966) was a Hungarian radiochemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate, recognized in 1943 for his key rol ...

and

Friedrich Adolf Paneth Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

developed at the Institute the

radioactive tracer A radioactive tracer, radiotracer, or radioactive label is a chemical compound in which one or more atoms have been replaced by a radionuclide so by virtue of its radioactive decay it can be used to explore the mechanism of chemical reactions by ...

s method, for which Hevesy received the Nobel Prize in 1943. Initially, very few women scientists worked at the Institute, including Berta Karlik and

Marietta Blau Marietta Blau (29 April 1894 – 27 January 1970) was an Austrian physicist credited with developing photographic nuclear emulsions that were usefully able to image and accurately measure high-energy nuclear particles and events, significantly a ...

; however, the percentage of women reached 30% during the time of Meyer. From 1945 to 1974, Berta Karlik directed the Institute. In 1955, Karlik became professor for nuclear physics at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

, so that the Institute was now both an Academy and a University Institute. Herbert Vonach succeeded her as director from 1974 to 1986. The institute was renamed in 1956, so that "nuclear physics" was now included in the title - corresponding to the widened research interests. In 1987, the institute was converted into an "Institute for Intermediate Energy Physics" under the direction of W. H. Breunlich.

Honour

On 28 May 2015, the Institute received the title "Historic Site" by the

European Physical Society The European Physical Society (EPS) is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to promote physics and physicists in Europe through methods such as physics outreach. Formally established in 1968, its membership includes the national physical so ...

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Successor organisations

There are now two separate successor organisations: * The Stefan Meyer Institute for subatomic Physics of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (SMI, earlier: Institute for Intermediate Energy Physics) that investigates the Strong Interaction in cooperation with foreign research centers. * The Institute for Isotope Research and Nuclear Physics of the

which uses the particle accelerator VERA for Radiocarbon Dating and similar dating methods.

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * *{{cite journal, doi = 10.1017/S0007087405006989, title= Designing (for) a new scientific discipline: the location and architecture of the Institut für Radiumforschung in early twentieth-century Vienna, year = 2005, last1 = Rentetzi, first1 = Maria, journal = The British Journal for the History of Science, volume = 38, pages = 275–306, issue = 3
B. Strohmaier: Report on the Museum for the History of Physics in PöllauStefan-Meyer-Institute for Subatomic physics
Education in Austria Nuclear technology in Austria