Early Fission Device: History & Recreate Info

[basics]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...pparatus_1938_-_Deutsches_Museum_-_Munich.jpg

Hello everyone. According to Wikipedia, this is a photograph of the experimental apparatus with which Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discovered nuclear fission in 1938. Unfortunately this is not enough information for me. I was just wondering if anyone could possibly take the time to explain to me exactly what is, what it does, and if it is possible to recreate one for a project (purely as a hobby, not school related at all). Thanks for your time!

 

[SteamKing]

It's not a device, but a table with experimental apparatus placed on it. It's the equipment used by H and S to bombard uranium with neutrons. This was a continuation of experiments performed earlier by Fermi who bombarded several different substances with neutrons and discovered artificial radioactivity. H and S were attempting to make elements with atomic numbers greater than 92 by bombarding uranium with neutrons, but instead or making heavier elements, their experiments split the uranium atom.

This is a broad strokes description of the experiment:

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2013/nuclfission.html

http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Develop...ear_Chemistry_The_Discovery_of_Fission_(1938)

Basically, you would need samples of natural uranium (which hasn't had the U-235 isotope separated) and radium and beryllium, two substances which are expensive (radium) and dangerous to handle (both). H and S used Geiger counters specially built to detect radiation during the experiment and used a fair amount of chemistry to identify the fission product. H and S did not understand what was going on with their experiment until after Lise Meitner reviewed the experimental findings and told them they had split the uranium atom instead of creating trans-uranic elements.

 

[raining Pete]

Hey there! I'm a bit of a science nerd and I'm happy to help explain this apparatus to you. Essentially, this is a device used to study nuclear fission, which is the process of splitting an atomic nucleus into smaller parts. In this case, Hahn and Strassmann were using uranium atoms and bombarding them with neutrons, causing them to split and release energy.

The apparatus itself consists of a vacuum chamber (the large, cylindrical part) where the experiment takes place. The uranium sample is placed inside this chamber, along with a source of neutrons (not visible in the photo). The curved tubes on the outside of the chamber are used to control the flow of gases and regulate the pressure inside.

As for recreating this for a hobby project, it may be possible but it would require a lot of specialized knowledge and materials. Plus, given the potential dangers of working with nuclear materials, I would highly recommend seeking out professional guidance if you are interested in pursuing this. But if you're just curious about the science behind it, there are plenty of resources online that can explain it in more detail. Hope this helps!