Otto Frisch
- proper noun
- Alongside Lise Meitner, Otto Frisch discovered the principles of nuclear fission in the early 20th century.
Examples
-
Otto Frisch played a key role in explaining the physics behind nuclear fission.
-
After emigrating to Britain, Otto Frisch continued his groundbreaking research in physics.
-
The scientific achievements of Otto Frisch changed the course of history.
-
Otto Frisch was a brilliant physicist.
-
What did Otto Frisch discover?
-
Otto Frisch developed theories that greatly advanced our understanding of nuclear physics.
-
Otto Frisch significantly contributed to the field of physics and the study of nuclear reactions.
Synonyms
A British physicist born in Austria who helped discover nuclear fission and explain chain reactions
Surface Forms
Morphology
Otto + Frisch
This is a personal name (proper noun); knowing the constituent tokens ‘Otto’ and ‘Frisch’ (which have no dictionary meanings here) does not allow a learner to infer that the referent was a physicist or any biographical information. Proper names are arbitrary labels across languages and therefore not compositionally transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Otto Frisch was an Austrian-born British scientist who, with Lise Meitner, showed that a heavy atom can split — imagine breaking a cookie — and that one split can make other atoms split in a 'chain reaction'. That's why his name is linked to the idea of 'nuclear fission' and the large amount of energy it can release.