Bestselling author-illustrator Marissa Moss tells the gripping story of Lise Meitner, the physicist who discovered nuclear fission

As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers.

Meitner made groundbreaking strides in the study of radiation, but when Hitler came to power in Germany, she suddenly had to face not only sexism, but also life-threatening anti-Semitism as well. Nevertheless, she persevered and one day made

a discovery that rocked the world: the splitting of the atom. While her male lab partner was awarded a Nobel Prize for the achievement, the committee refused to give her any credit.

Suddenly, the race to build the atomic bomb was on—although Meitner was horrified to be associated with such a weapon. “A physicist who never lost her humanity,” Meitner wanted only to figure out how the world works, and advocated for pacifism while others called for war.

The book includes an afterword, author's note, timeline, select terms of physics, glossary of scientists mentioned, endnotes, select bibliography, index, and Marissa Moss's celebrated drawings throughout. The Woman Who Split the Atom is a fascinating look at Meitner's fierce passion, integrity, and her lifelong struggle to have her contributions to physics recognized.

畅销书作家兼插图画家玛丽莎·莫斯（Marissa Moss）讲述了发现核裂变的物理学家莉斯·迈特纳（Lise Meitner）的动人故事。

作为20世纪初柏林的一名女性犹太物理学家，莉斯·迈特纳不得不为教育、工作以及在其领域的平等待遇而奋斗，比如将自己的名字列在自己的研究论文上。

迈特纳在辐射研究方面取得了突破性进展，但希特勒上台后，她不仅要面对性别歧视，而且还要面对威胁生命的反犹太主义。尽管如此，她仍坚持不懈，并在某一天取得了震撼世界的发现：原子分裂。虽然她的男性实验室伙伴因这一成就获得了诺贝尔奖，但委员会拒绝给予她任何荣誉。

突然间，制造原子弹的竞赛开始了，尽管迈特纳对与这种武器联系在一起感到震惊。她是一位“从未失去人性的物理学家”，她只想弄清楚世界是如何运作的，并在其他人呼吁战争的时候倡导和平主义。

本书包括后记、作者说明、时间轴、精选的物理学术语、提到的科学家词汇、尾注、精选的书目、索引，以及玛丽莎·莫斯的知名绘画作品。本书精彩展示了迈特纳强烈的激情、正直以及她为使自己对物理学的贡献得到承认而进行的终生斗争。