Question
Question: Which of the following statements is/are correct? A.Neutron was discovered by Chadwick. B.Nucle...
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
A.Neutron was discovered by Chadwick.
B.Nuclear Fission was discovered by Hahn and Strassmann
C.Polonium was discovered by Madam Curie
D.Nuclear fusion was discovered by Fermi.
Solution
To solve this question, knowledge on atomic structure is required. Many radioactive elements were discovered by M. Curie while the subatomic particles were discovered by Rutherford, Chadwick and Thomson. Nuclear fusion was discovered by a group of scientists on different occasions.
Complete step by step solution:
Neutron was discovered by Chadwick – Neutron was discovered by Chadwick in the year 1932, a lot later after the discovery of the other two subatomic particles namely, electron and the proton.
Nuclear Fission was discovered by Hahn and Strassmann- The discovery of nuclear fission is credited to physicists Lise Meitner, Otto Hahn, and Fritz Strassmann in the year 1938. And Otto Hahn even received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944 for his discovery.
Polonium was discovered by Madam Curie- This radioactive element polonium was discovered by Marie Curie along with one other element, radium.
Nuclear fusion was discovered by Fermi- Building on the early transmutation reactions by Ernest Rutherford, fusion of hydrogen isotopes was accomplished by Mark Oliphant in the year 1932 and the theory of the main nuclear fusion in stars was worked out by Hans Bethe.
So, among all the above statements, option A, B, and C are correct.
Note:
Madam Curie was the first and only person ever to have been awarded the Nobel Prize twice in her life, one in 1903, she won it for her work in physics along with her husband Pierre Curie and in 1911, she won it singularly for her work in Chemistry.