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Science & Medicine

Rudolf Peierls

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Who

Rudolf Peierls · Science & Medicine

What

Physicist; co-authored the memorandum on the feasibility of an atomic bomb, condensed matter theory

When

1907, Berlin, Germany — 1995, Oxford, England

Where

Germany · United Kingdom (University of Birmingham · University of Oxford)

Prizes and awards
Biography

Rudolf Peierls is recognized among Jewish contributors to Science & Medicine — Physicist; co-authored the memorandum on the feasibility of an atomic bomb, condensed matter theory

How & why

Born in Berlin to an assimilated Jewish family, Peierls left Germany after Hitler's rise and became a leading physicist in Britain. In 1940, with Otto Frisch, he wrote the Frisch–Peierls memorandum, the first calculation showing that a practical atomic bomb could be built from a small mass of uranium-235 — a document that galvanized the Allied nuclear programs. He also made lasting contributions to solid-state and condensed-matter theory, and later became a prominent advocate for nuclear arms control.

Sources & external links

Verify and go deeper with these external references.

Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Physics

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Contributions & Sources

Physicist; co-authored the memorandum on the feasibility of an atomic bomb, condensed matter theory

1907

Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Physics