The Meitner–Hupfeld effect, named after

Lise Meitner Elise Lise Meitner ( ; ; 7 November 1878 – 27 October 1968) was an Austrian-Swedish nuclear physicist who was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission. After completing her doctoral research in 1906, Meitner became the second woman ...

and

Hans-Hermann Hupfeld Gustav Theodor Hans Hermann Hupfeld (November 28, 1905 – November 11, 1942) was a German physicist known for his work on the scattering of gamma rays. Early career Hans-Hermann Hupfeld was born on his parents' farm in Klein-Varchow, Me ...

, is an anomalously large scattering of

gamma rays A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from high energy interactions like the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei or astronomical events like solar flares. It consists o ...

by heavy elements. The effect was later explained by a broad theory from which evolved the

Standard Model The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...

, a theory for explaining the structure of the

atomic nucleus The atomic nucleus is the small, dense region consisting of protons and neutrons at the center of an atom, discovered in 1911 by Ernest Rutherford at the Department_of_Physics_and_Astronomy,_University_of_Manchester , University of Manchester ...

. The anomalous gamma-ray behavior was eventually ascribed to electron–positron pair production and annihilation. Although Meitner was recognized for her work, Hupfeld contribution is usually ignored, and little or no account of his life exists.

References

Standard Model History of physics {{particle-stub

See also

References