Elizabeth Rona

Elizabeth Rona (1890–1981) was a Hungarian-American radiochemist who developed methods for separating and measuring polonium and studied radioactive elements.

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Otto Hahn: German chemist who discovered nuclear fission with Fritz Strassmann and conducted early research on radioactive elements. Hahn worked with Rona in Vienna, where they studied radioactive substances.
Polonium: A highly radioactive chemical element with atomic number 84, discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Polonium was the element Rona’s separation and measurement methods helped researchers study.
Institute for Radium Research: A research institute founded in Vienna in 1910 for the scientific study of radioactivity. Rona conducted research there during a formative period in her career.
Actinium: A radioactive chemical element with atomic number 89, found in trace amounts in uranium ores. Rona’s radiochemical research included the separation and study of actinium.
Lise Meitner: Austrian-Swedish physicist who interpreted nuclear fission with Otto Frisch and researched radioactivity. Rona worked with Meitner in Vienna and later maintained professional ties with her.
Radioactive decay: The spontaneous transformation of an unstable atomic nucleus, accompanied by emitted particles or radiation. Decay governed the changing quantities and signals in Rona’s radioactive samples.
University of Budapest: A Hungarian university where Rona studied chemistry and earned her doctorate in 1912. Her chemical training there preceded her specialization in radiochemistry.
Radium: A radioactive chemical element with atomic number 88, discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. Rona’s work on radioactive elements encompassed radium and its chemical separation.
George de Hevesy: Hungarian radiochemist who pioneered radioactive tracers and developed neutron activation analysis. Hevesy’s radiochemical techniques formed part of the scientific world in which Rona trained and worked.
Alpha particle: A particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons, emitted by some radioactive nuclei. Alpha emissions provided a detectable signal in experiments involving polonium and other elements.