"In January, 1939, we published an account of 'experiments that are at variance with all previous experiences in nuclear physics.' In interpreting the experiments we expressed ourselves very cautiously, partly because the series of tests had not yet been quite finished-they took several weeks. But our caution was not due to any mistrust of our results. Indeed, we already had a strong check of our conclusion, for we had identified a decay product of one of our 'radium' isotopes as lanthanum, which meant that the parent had to be not radium but barium. Our overcau-tiousness stemmed primarily from the fact that, as chemists, we hesitated to announce a revolutionary discovery in physics.
展开▼
