Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi (29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian physicist, particularly remembered for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1938 for his work on induced radioactivity, Fermi is widely regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 20th century, highly accomplished in both theory and experiment. Fermium, a synthetic element created in 1952, the Fermi national accelerator lab, the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, and a type of particles called Fermions are named after him.

Early years

Enrico Fermi was born in Rome, Italy, to Alberto Fermi, a chief inspector of the ministry of communications, and Ida de Gattis, an elementary school teacher who built her own pressure cooker. As a young boy, he enjoyed learning physics and mathematics and shared his interests with his older brother, Giulio. When Giulio died unexpectedly of a throat abscess in 1915, Enrico was distraught, and immersed himself in scientific study to distract himself. According to his own account, each day he would walk in front of the hospital where Giulio died until he became inured to the pain. One of the first sources for the study of physics was a book found at the local market of Campo de' Fiori in Roma. The 900 page book, entitled Elementorum Physicae Mathematicae, was written in Latin by Jesuit Father Andrea Caraffa, a professor at the Collegio Romano, covered subjects like mathematics, classical mechanics, astronomy, optics, and acoustics. Notes found in the book indicate that Fermi studied it intensely. Later, Enrico befriended another scientifically inclined student named Enrico Persico, and the two worked together on scientific projects such as building gyroscopes, and measuring the earth's magnetic field. Fermi's interest in physics was further encouraged by a friend of his father, Adolfo Amidei, who gave him several books on physics and mathematics, which he read and assimilated quickly.

Professor in Rome

Aged 24, Fermi took a professorship at the University of Rome (first in atomic physics in italy) which he won in a competition held by professor Orso Mario Corbino, director of the institute of physics. Corbino helped Fermi in selecting his team, which soon was joined by notable minds like Edoardo Amaldi, Bruno Pontecorvo, Franco Rasetti and Emilio Segrè. For the theoretical studies only, Ettore Majorana also took part in what was soon nicknamed "the via panisperna boys" (after the name of the road in which the institute had its labs). The group went on with its now famous experiments, but in 1933 Rasetti left Italy for Canada and the United States, Pontecorvo went to France and Segrè left to teach in Palermo.

During their time in Rome, Fermi and his group made important contributions to many practical and theoretical aspects of physics. These include the theory of beta decay, with the inclusion of the neutrino postulated in 1930 by Pauli, and the discovery of slow neutrons, which was to prove pivotal for the working of nuclear reactors. his group systematically bombarded elements with slow neutrons, and during their experiments with uranium, narrowly missed observing nuclear fission. at that time, fission was thought to be improbable if not impossible, mostly on theoretical grounds. while people expected elements with higher atomic number to form from neutron bombardment of lighter elements, nobody expected neutrons to have enough energy to actually split a heavier atom into two light element fragments. However, the chemist Ida Noddack had criticized Fermi's work and had suggested that some of his experiments could have produced lighter elements. at the time, Fermi dismissed this possibility on the basis of calculations.

Fermi was well-known for his simplicity in solving problems. He began his inquiries with the simplest lines of mathematical reasoning, and then later produced complete solutions to the problems he deemed worth pursuing. His abilities as a great scientist, combining theoretical and applied nuclear physics, were acknowledged by all. He influenced many physicists who worked with him, such as Hans Bethe, who spent two semesters working with Fermi in the early 1930s. From the time he was a boy, Fermi meticulously recorded his calculations in notebooks, and later used to solve many new problems that he encountered based on these earlier known problems.

When Fermi submitted his famous paper on beta decay to the prestigious journal nature, the journal's editor turned it down because "it contained speculations which were too remote from reality". Thus Fermi saw the theory published in Italian and in German before it was published in English. Nature eventually did publish Fermi's report on beta decay on January 16, 1939. Fermi remained in Rome until 1938.