Showing 863 results

This series consists of photographs, film, glass plate slides, and audiotapes. The photographs at G.1-20 include one folder of negatives at G.15. The photographs found at G.1-8 were originally housed in envelopes with titles in Frisch's hand, but they are only a partial guide to the present contents. Some photographs are dated and identified on their verso. Another photograph, G.32, arrived as part of the supplemental papers given by Ulla Frisch after the main group of papers.

The films at G.21-22 include some which were taken at post-war physics conferences. The glass lecture slides at G.23-28 are in boxes with labels but some slides do not conform to their box labels. G.34-35 are film slides and are part of the supplemental papers.

The audiotapes are housed as G.29-31, and G.33 (the latter is part of the supplemental papers).

The papers consist of correspondence, research notes, writings, documents, publications, photographs, glass slides, films, and audiotapes documenting all stages of Otto Robert Frisch's life, and include Frisch's collection of the papers of his aunt, the physicist Lise Meitner. The 70 boxes of material are organised into seven series: Biographical and personal papers; Scientific research; Lectures and publications; Radio, television, films; Visits and conferences; Correspondence; and Non-print material.

Series A, Biographical and personal papers, is particularly full, incorporating material relating not only to Frisch's own career and interests including music (A.86-90) and sketching (A.84, 233-249), but also to Frisch’s extended family. These have historical interest as an example of the diaspora of the Thirties, and in the case of Lise Meitner a more specific scientific interest complementing other material deposited elsewhere. Lise Meitner's papers appear primarily in this series (A.134-211), and consist of correspondence, most of which is with Frisch and her younger brother Walter, as well as drafts of lectures, photographs, and miscellaneous papers. Several of her letters appear elsewhere in the collection (C.55, D.55, and F.15) and she is the subject of letters and articles throughout. Series F contains photocopies of letters written to her from Otto Hahn in December 1938 (F.52) and Series G includes photographs of her as well as an undated audiotape of a conversation between Frisch and Meitner (G.31).

Series B, Scientific research, includes notebooks, laboratory notes and calculations, publication drafts and correspondence. It presents a full record for the periods of work at Hamburg and Copenhagen, but the wartime work on the atomic bomb project is under-represented due to the security restrictions placed on the work. B.209-220 are documents relating to nuclear fission in the first half of 1939: correspondence between Frisch in Copenhagen and his aunt Lise Meitner in Sweden, correspondence between Frisch and Niels Bohr at Princeton, two drafts of Bohr's paper on the disintegration of heavy nuclei and correspondence between Frisch and Nature. The series also contains Frisch’s original eyewitness account of the Trinity Test (B.135), and a letter from Louis, identified as Louis Slotin by Sir Rudolf Peierls, written a month before Slotin's fatal accident (B.136A). Also present is an item added later by the Contemporary Scientific Archives Centre which provided the original cataloguing of the collection, a photocopy of the official report on Frisch's work at Los Alamos drawn up in August 1946 (A.58A). For the later period, the paucity of material relating to the Cavendish Laboratory reflects Frisch's lack of interest in administrative and committee work and his preference for relatively small-scale experimental projects such as his scanning device, and the various constructions and gadgets which he continued to devise for his Laser Scan company to the end of his life.

Series C, Lectures and publications, and D, Radio, television, films illustrate Frisch's expository skills in the written and the spoken word; he was greatly in demand as a lecturer, and the broadcasting services made regular calls on his multi-lingual gifts. There are drafts, correspondence, and printed material related to Frisch's lectures and publications, and drafts of scripts, correspondence, contracts and receipts related to Frisch's work in radio, television, and film.

Series E, Visits and conferences, varies in content from brief notices or programmes to substantial folders including correspondence on scientific matters, arrangements for lectures, publications, and travel, as well as visits to friends. It should be noted that many of the important meetings of the Thirties were held at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Copenhagen where he worked. E.64-76 contains material relating to the commemoration meeting for Bohr held at Copenhagen in 1963. The material in Section G, Non-print materials, provides a supplementary photographic record of meetings and conferences.

The correspondence in Series F dates mainly postdates 1947 and Frisch's establishment in Cambridge. Very little survives for 1943-1947 due to security restrictions at Los Alamos. Incoming scientific correspondence for the earlier period 1930-1943 is less well documented and was usually kept by Frisch with relevant research notes. Incoming personal letters for those years appear mainly in the 'Family correspondence and papers' in Series A. During the Thirties, Frisch kept copies of his outgoing letters in chronological folders where correspondence of all kinds and in several languages is juxtaposed. In a letter to Margaret Hope of 14 September 1936, Frisch explains 'I like to keep a duplicate of all my letters, it is like a diary for me'. This material remains in its original order, at B.39-42, B.73-81.

Series G, Non-print material, consists of photographs, film, glass plate slides, photographic slides, and audiotapes. The photographs include those by his aunt and noted photographer Lotte Meitner-Graf (G.10, 12, 18). The film includes those taken at Copenhagen and the Bohr’s holiday home Tisvilde in 1937 (G.21), and at post-war conferences (G.22). The glass plate slides were created to accompany lectures (G.23-28). There is also an audio recording of an undated conversation between Lise Meitner and Frisch (G.31).

Frisch was fluent in German, Danish, and English, and read other languages, and so the collection is multi-lingual as well. He continued to use Danish and German for lectures, speeches or correspondence to the end of his life; English became his language of choice for writing. Another feature of the collection is evidence of Frisch’s gift for sketching, particularly of caricatures of colleagues; there are some specific samples of his drawings, but others are scattered throughout the collection, on letters, conference programmes, and menus. Shortly before his death in 1979 Frisch published his autobiography What little I remember (Cambridge University Press), giving an informal account of his life mainly up to 1947. This has been drawn upon as a basis for dating material, and catalogue entries cite references in the book. The memoir by R.E. Peierls for the Royal Society of London, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society (27, 1981) has been drawn upon and referred to in the catalogue as well.

This series brings together the remaining letters not kept by Frisch in folders with related research notes, drafts for publications, etc. Some of the letters complement material in other series, but the majority are shorter exchanges with scientific colleagues, or personal correspondence.

It should be noted that several of the letters have Frisch's reply typed on the verso.

The correspondence is presented in alphabetical order, with a brief indication of any material of particular scientific or personal interest. The supplemental papers given by Ulla Frisch, E.148-157, however, are listed in a second alphabetic order.

This series contains material relating to Frisch's academic visits and conferences, varying in content from brief notices or programmes to substantial folders including correspondence on scientific matters, arrangements for lectures, publications, and travel, as well as visits to friends. The material is arranged in chronological order; however, the supplemental papers given by Ulla Frisch, E.64-82, are in a second chronological order. E.64-E.76 consist of papers relating to the Commemoration Meeting for Niels Bohr, Copenhagen, 8-13 July 1963. E.78 - E.82 consist of papers relating to the symposium on the history of nuclear physics, University of Minnesota, 18-21 May 1977.

This series consists of drafts of scripts, correspondence, contracts and receipts related to Frisch's work in radio, television, and film.
As with the material in Series C, the talks, etc. for which scripts survive and which are listed at D.1-38 are only a small proportion of Frisch's contribution to radio; the folders of correspondence, contracts or receipts at D.39-43 give a fuller impression of his substantial contribution as a broadcaster.

D.1-43 consists of drafts of scripts and related correspondence for BBC Radio and is arranged chronologically, save for the shorter correspondence groups found at D.39-43. A related group may be found at D.61-62; these are part of the supplemental papers added to the papers after cataloguing by Ulla Frisch. The scripts and related correspondence at D.44-50 Television Companies (U.K.) and D.51-54 Radio and Television (Europe) are arranged alphabetically by company within each section. The correspondence and papers for the films at D.55-59 are arranged chronologically.

This series consists of drafts, correspondence, and printed material related to Frisch's lectures and publications. The material is arranged into seven subseries: Lectures and articles, Books and unpublished work, Book reviews, Obituaries and biographical writings, Requests for lectures and papers, Correspondence with publishers and editors, and Published material. Each section is presented in chronological order so far as this is ascertainable. A supplemental subseries has been added consisting of papers given by Ulla Frisch after the main body of papers.

The Lectures and articles, C.1-54, consist of drafts and related correspondence. See also Series E for scripts of talks on the radio. Books and unpublished work, C.55-76, also consists of drafts and related correspondence. Book reviews are to be found at C.76. Many of the Obituaries and biographical writings, C.77-89, are additional to those listed in the Bibliography, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 27, 306.

Requests for lectures and papers, C.90-101, consists of correspondence from universities, industrial firms, scientific societies, Jewish organisations, schools and colleges, some of which is accompanied by a little background information. A note is given of any material of particular scientific or personal interest, and significant correspondence is indexed. For invitations to give lectures abroad, see Series E.

The Correspondence with publishers and editors, C.102-133, is mainly with editors or representatives of firms or newspapers, but there are a few exchanges with individuals. The content relates to Frisch's own publications (articles, books, translations), written or proposed, and to requests for advice or comment by him on material submitted for publication by others. Correspondence relating to specific identified writings by Frisch may be found with the relevant manuscript drafts in C.1-89. This material provides information on many book proposals that were never realised.

C.134-139, Published material, includes an incomplete set of reprints of Frisch's published papers, presented in the order adopted for the Bibliography accompanying the Memoir by R.E. Peierls (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 27, 1981) at C.138-139. Several items in the sequence C.1-89 are omitted from or additional to this Bibliography.

C.140-167 consist of supplemental papers given by Ulla Frisch after the main body of papers. C.140-147 are drafts by Otto Frisch, including his first published paper, C.148-163 are drafts by others, C.164-165 are unidentified drafts, and C.166-167 are published papers.

This series consists of notebooks, laboratory notes, observations and working papers, drafts for publications, and correspondence. The material is arranged into ten subseries indicating the locations of the various laboratories, institutions and universities at which Frisch worked, in chronological order: Vienna; Berlin; Hamburg; Birkbeck College, London; Copenhagen; Birmingham; Liverpool; Los Alamos; Harwell; and Cambridge. A supplemental subseries has been added consisting of papers given by Ulla Frisch after the main body of papers.

Several of the diaries and notebooks in A.8-32 also contain some scientific information and should be consulted as supplementary sources.

The first two subseries are small: Vienna, B.1-2 and Berlin, B.3-7. For material concerning Frisch's appointment at Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (PTR), see A.46, Correspondence and papers re arrangements to work with C. Müller.

The third subseries, Hamburg, B.8-42, dates from Frisch's work as assistant to Otto Stern (see What little I remember, pp. 41-56). See F. 123 for Stern's acknowledgement of Frisch's contribution to the work on molecular beams. The outgoing correspondence in B.39 - B.42, as well as B.73 - B.81 dates from 1930 - July 1939. These letters follow Frisch's own chronological order and includes personal and family as well as scientific letters.

The fourth subseries, Birkbeck College, London, B.43 consists of correspondence from 1943.

The fifth subseries, Copenhagen, B.44-94 dates from Frisch's work at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, directed by Niels Bohr (see What little I remember, pp. 81-119). The letters at B.73-81 are, like B.39-42, Frisch's carbons, in date order, of his outgoing letters both personal and scientific. The item numbers 83-94 in this subseries have not been allocated, and do not represent missing items. See also B.208, part of the supplemental papers supplied by Ulla Frisch.

Birmingham, B.95-104, is comprised almost entirely of correspondence. These are almost wholly concerned with research projects. Unlike the previous correspondence files, they may include both incoming and outgoing letters. For personal material relating to Frisch's appointment at Birmingham, departure from Copenhagen and settlement in Britain, see A.11, A.48-53. See also B.209-221, part of the supplemental papers supplied by Ulla Frisch.

Liverpool, B.105-131, includes research reports on nuclear projects, B.109-116, and correspondence, B.117-131, which are almost wholly concerned with research projects, and include incoming and outgoing letters. For material relating to Frisch's appointment at Liverpool, see A.55.

Virtually no material survives for Los Alamos, B.132-136A, because of the strict security restrictions enforced on all personnel. For personal material relating to Frisch's service at Los Alamos, see A.58-63 and also A.12-15. The subseries does include a letter from Louis, identified as Louis Slotin by Sir Rudolf Peierls, written a month before Slotin's fatal accident (B.136A).

The ninth subseries is Harwell, B.137-142. For personal material relating to Frisch's period at Harwell, see A.64, A.65. See also B.222, part of the supplemental papers supplied by Ulla Frisch.

The subseries Cambridge, B.143-B.207, is divided into materials relating to the Cavendish Laboratory (B.143-183) and Frisch's company Laser Scan Limited, B.184-207. The Cavendish Laboratory is further subdivided into Notebooks and research notes, B.143-152, Lectures, B.153.175, and Correspondence, B.176-183. The lectures are arranged in chronological order as far as possible. The majority are graduate and undergraduate lectures given at Cambridge University, but see B.167-169 for lectures as visiting scientist at CERN 1967. Almost all the work is in Frisch's hand and is rarely written up as a narrative. The Laser Scan Limited materials are further subdivided into Notebooks and research notes, B.184-196, Publications and manuals, B.197-200, and Correspondence, B.201-207. The Notebooks and research notes include Frisch's later miscellaneous projects related to the company, as well as the original SWEEPNIK material. There are also some SWEEPNIK notes in B.143, 'ORF 18', hard-cover notebook. The correspondence includes Frisch's folder of material relating to the history of Laser Scan (B.201-205), with notes, drawings, and correspondence. See also B.223-224, part of the supplemental papers supplied by Ulla Frisch.

The last subseries, B.208-224, consists of supplemental material given by Ulla Frisch after the main body of papers arrived. These documents relate to nuclear fission in the first half of 1939: correspondence between Frisch and Lise Meitner, correspondence between Frisch and Niels Bohr, two drafts of Bohr's paper on the disintegration of heavy nuclei and correspondence between Frisch and Nature.

This series consists of correspondence, diaries, writings, publications, drawings, and memorabilia related to Otto Frisch and to Lise Meitner. The material is arranged in five subseries: Biographical and autobiographical papers (A.1-7), Diaries and notebooks (A.8-32), Career and memorabilia (A.33-106), Family correspondence and papers (A.107-225), and Supplemental Papers given by Ulla Frisch (A.226-251). The Lise Meitner papers may be found in the penultimate group, A.134-211. For photographs, slides, tape-recordings, etc. of Frisch, his family and colleagues, see Series G.

A.1-7 includes material related to his autobiography What little I remember, as well as obituary tributes about Frisch.

Frisch made little distinction between the types of journal found at A.8 -32, Diaries and notebooks. In earlier years, he tended to use 'notebooks' in which he would draw up tables of days and weeks on some of the pages, thus creating a 'diary'. Later on, he used 'diaries' and made them serve for wider purposes than the usual day-to-day record. From about 1947 he often chose the 'Lefax' system which enabled him to keep several years' notes in one binder; see A.24-31, or, for less organised examples, A.12, A.13, A.22. The contents of all these documents are similar, though their proportions vary. They include experimental results, ideas for research, journals of visits, notes of conferences, meetings and lectures, personal jottings, memos and addresses. In his address books Frisch would use the thumb-index to suit his own purposes: thus 'I' may turn up 'Ideas', 'M' lead to `Money', etc. These books therefore supplement the scientific and technical material found in Series B as well as documenting Frisch's personal life. The material is presented as a chronological sequence so far as this is ascertainable and Frisch's methods of work allow.

In A.33-106 Career and memorabilia, A.86-90 relate to music, though it should be noted that there are many other references elsewhere, e.g., A.56, A.72, A.95 and in the general correspondence. A.91 to A.94 are indexed folders of letters of condolence from colleagues, relatives or friends containing reminiscences or information.

Most of A.107-225 Family correspondence and papers consists of correspondence, but there are other biographical items included. Many of the letters employ nicknames and diminutives as mode of address or signature; Lise Meitner normally signed herself 'T.L.' (= Tante Lise) when writing to Frisch. For convenience, the material has been divided among the Frisch, Meitner and Blau (Frisch's wife) families, and presented by alphabetical order of Christian name in order to avoid confusion arising from the married names of the female members. The letters from Frisch's father and mother (A.109-120) are almost all joint communications, sometimes also incorporating greetings and messages from other relations. The Lise Meitner papers, A.134-211, are further arranged as Biographical and personal papers (A.134-154), Notes and drafts (A.155-176), and Correspondence (A.177-211) The Notes and drafts, are all later works, dating from Lise Meitner's postwar periods in Sweden and Cambridge, with the exception of the brief items in A.155-157. The papers at A.219-225 are those related to the Blau family. Frisch married Ursula (Ulla) Blau in 1951 and they had two children. The letters they exchanged (A.221-225) contain information about conferences, scientific colleagues, and research projects as well as personal and family news.

The supplemental papers given by Ulla Frisch after the main group of papers, A.226-251, include Frisch's caricature drawings of scientific colleagues and others at committee meetings, conferences, and social occasions, and include those made at Los Alamos (A.233-249).

Pringsheim, P. 1961. Includes photograph of Pringsheim as a young child and an offprint of an early (1930) article on Luminescence.

Pryce, M.H.L. 1956, 1961

Envelope of miscellaneous correspondence, souvenirs, etc.

Includes arrangements for Frisch to give a memorial lecture for W. Ehrenberg at Birkbeck College.

Halban's letter of 29 January 1940 (in French) describes the difficulties of research under prevailing conditions and the deposit of their results in sealed letters to ensure priority.

Buchthal, F. 1939

Ehrenberg, W. 1939

Hahn, O. 1939. 2 letters.

Poschmann, H. 1954

Powell, C.F. 1947-53

1935, various dates 1961–77

Poems, invitations, etc.

Includes correspondence re changes proposed by Bohr to paper by Frisch and Lise Meitner

A letter from Mrs. Bohr is also included here.

1934, 1935, 1946, 1947

Greetings and cards from various relations, early notes to parents, sketches and drawings, c.1905-17.

American Physical Society 1940. Frisch's carbon only.

Bjerge, T. 1939

Blackett, P.M.S. 1939

Bloch, F. 1939

Peyrou, N. 1956

Pickavance, T.G. 1952, 1959

Pihl, M. n.d.

Pincher, H.C. 1949

Ping, W.C. 1962-74

Pirenne, M.H. 1975

Sheets of graph paper, folded and stitched to form a 'book', containing diagrams and calculations of experiments (in English and German).

Includes experiments on uranium October-December 1939, 'Neutron-Chain-Experiment' beginning January 1940, miscellaneous undated pages of diagrams and calculations.

1945–48, 1955, 1979

Includes a little correspondence 1978 for Lady Peierls's 70th birthday.