Enrico Fermi
Born	29 September 1901(1901-09-29) Rome, Italy
Died	November 28, 1954 (aged 53) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Citizenship	Italy (1901-1938) United States (1944-1954)
Field	Physics
Institutions	Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa University of Göttingen University of Leiden University of Rome La Sapienza Columbia University University of Chicago
Alma mater	Scuola Normale Superiore
Academic advisor	Luigi Puccianti
Notable students	Owen Chamberlain Geoffrey Chew Mildred Dresselhaus Jerome I. Friedman Marvin Leonard Goldberger Tsung-Dao Lee James Rainwater Marshall Rosenbluth Arthur Rosenfeld Emilio Segrè Jack Steinberger Sam Treiman
Known for	New radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, Controlled nuclear chain reaction, Fermi-Dirac statistics Theory of beta decay
Notable awards	Nobel Prize for Physics (1938)

Enrico Fermi (September 29, 1901 – November 28, 1954) was an Italian physicist most noted 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. Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 for his work on induced radioactivity and is today regarded as one of the top scientists of the 20th century. Image File history File links Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist, received the 1938 Nobel Prize in physics for identifying new elements and discovering nuclear reactions by his method of nuclear irradiation and bombardment. ... is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, also known in Italian language as Scuola Normale (English: Normal High School College of Pisa or Normal School), is with no doubt the most elitary college in the whole Italian universities world. ... Leaning Tower of Pisa. ... The Georg-August University of Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, often called the Georgia Augusta) was founded in 1734 by George II, King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and opened in 1737. ... Leiden University in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. ... University of Rome La Sapienza (Università della Sapienza) is the most ancient university of Rome, Italy. ... Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, also known in Italian language as Scuola Normale (English: Normal High School College of Pisa or Normal School), is with no doubt the most elitary college in the whole Italian universities world. ... Luigi Puccianti, (1875 - 1952) is notable for having constructed a highly sensitive spectrograph, with which he studied the infrared absorption of many compounds and attempted to correlate the spectra with molecular structure. ... Owen Chamberlain Owen Chamberlain (July 10, 1920 – February 28, 2006) was a prominent American physicist. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Geoffrey Chew (born 1924) was a Physicist. ... Mildred S Dresselhaus is an Institute Professor and Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ... Jerome Isaac Friedman (born 1930) is a U.S. physicist. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Marvin Leonard Goldberger was born in 1922 or 1923. ... Tsung-Dao Lee (T. D. Lee, 李政道 Pinyin: Lǐ Zhèngdào) (born November 24, 1926) is a Chinese American physicist, well known for parity violation, Lee Model, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion (RHIC) physics, nontopological solitons and soliton stars. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Leo James Rainwater (December 9, 1917 - May 31, 1986) was an American physicist who won a share of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Marshall Nicholas Rosenbluth (5 February 1927–-28 September 2003) was an American nuclear physicist. ... Dr. Arthur H Rosenfeld (b. ... Portrait of Dr. Emilio Segre Emilio Gino Segrè (February 1, 1905 - April 22, 1989) was an Italian American physicist who, with Owen Chamberlain, won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the antiproton. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Jack Steinberger (born May 25, 1921) is a physicist. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sam Treiman is an American theoretical physicist who produced important research in the fields of quantum physics, plasma physics and gravity physics. ... Radioactive decay is the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A schematic nuclear fission chain reaction. ... Fermi-Dirac distribution as a function of ε/μ plotted for 4 different temperatures. ... In nuclear physics, beta decay (sometimes called neutron decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle (an electron or a positron) is emitted. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ... is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ... For a less technical and generally accessible introduction to the topic, see Introduction to quantum mechanics. ... Nuclear physics is the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom. ... Thousands of particles explode from the collision point of two relativistic (100 GeV per nucleon) gold ions in the STAR detector of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. ... Statistical mechanics is the application of probability theory, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ... Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995) accepting the Nobel Prize for his work on magnetohydrodynamics [1]. List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ... Induced radioactivity is when a previously stable material has been made radioactive by exposure to specific radiation. ...

Biography

Physics in Rome

Enrico Fermi was born in Rome, Italy. His father was Alberto Fermi, a Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Communications, and his mother was Ida de Gattis, an elementary school teacher. 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 into 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. Later, Enrico befriended another scientifically inclined student named Enrico Persico, and the two together engaged in scientific projects such as building gyroscopes, and measuring the magnetic field of the earth. Fermi's interest in physics was further encouraged when a friend of his father's gave him several books on physics and mathematics, which he read and assimilated. For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... A gyroscope For other uses, see Gyroscope (disambiguation). ... For the indie-pop band, see The Magnetic Fields. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... For other meanings of mathematics or uses of math and maths, see Mathematics (disambiguation) and Math (disambiguation). ...

Fermi received his undergraduate and doctoral degree from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. There was an entrance exam which candidates had to take in order to enter the prestigious institute, which included an essay. For his essay on the given theme Characteristics of Sound, 17-year-old Fermi chose to derive and solve the Fourier analysis based partial differential equation for waves on a string. The examiner interviewed Fermi and concluded that his essay would have been commendable even for a doctoral degree. At the Scuola Normale Superiore, Fermi teamed up with a fellow student named Franco Rasetti with whom he use to indulge in light hearted pranks. Later, Rasetti became Fermi's close friend and collaborator. The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, also known in Italian language as Scuola Normale (English: Normal High School College of Pisa or Normal School), is with no doubt the most elitary college in the whole Italian universities world. ... Leaning Tower of Pisa. ... Fourier (SAMPA: [fVri:eI]) can mean: Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, a French mathematician and physicist. ... The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, also known in Italian language as Scuola Normale (English: Normal High School College of Pisa or Normal School), is with no doubt the most elitary college in the whole Italian universities world. ... Franco Dino Rasetti (August 10, 1901 – December 5, 2001) was an Italian scientist. ...

Fermi's Ph.D advisor was Luigi Puccianti. In 1924 Fermi spent a semester in Göttingen, and then stayed for a few months in Leiden with Paul Ehrenfest. From January 1925 to the autumn of 1926 he stayed at the University of Florence. In this period he wrote his work on the Fermi-Dirac statistics. When he was only 24 years old, Fermi took a professorship in Rome (the first for atomic physics in Italy, which he won in a competition created 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. Luigi Puccianti, (1875 - 1952) is notable for having constructed a highly sensitive spectrograph, with which he studied the infrared absorption of many compounds and attempted to correlate the spectra with molecular structure. ... Göttingen marketplace with old city hall, Gänseliesel fountain and pedestrian zone Göttingen ( ) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Coordinates: , Country Province Area (2006)  - Municipality 23. ... Paul Ehrenfest Paul Ehrenfest (Vienna, January 18, 1880 – Amsterdam, September 25, 1933) was an Austrian physicist and mathematician, who obtained Dutch citizenship on March 24, 1922. ... The University of Florence (Università degli Studi di Firenze, UNIFI) is one of the largest and oldest universities in Italy. ... Fermi-Dirac distribution as a function of ε/μ plotted for 4 different temperatures. ... The meaning of the word professor (Latin: [1]) varies. ... University of Rome La Sapienza (Università della Sapienza) is the most ancient university of Rome, Italy. ... Atomic physics (or atom physics) is the field of physics that studies atoms as isolated systems comprised of electrons and an atomic nucleus. ... Orso Mario Corbino (30 April 1876, Augusta – 23 January 1937, Rome) was an Italian physicist and politician. ... Orso Mario Corbino (30 April 1876, Augusta – 23 January 1937, Rome) was an Italian physicist and politician. ... Edoardo Amaldi (5 September 1908 - 5 December 1989) was an Italian physicist. ... Bruno Pontecorvo Bruno Pontecorvo (Pisa, Italy 1913 - Dubna, Russia 1993) was an Italian atomic physicist, early assistant of Enrico Fermi then author of numerous studies in high energy physics, especially on neutrinos. ... Franco Dino Rasetti (August 10, 1901 – December 5, 2001) was an Italian scientist. ... Portrait of Dr. Emilio Segre Emilio Gino Segrè (February 1, 1905 - April 22, 1989) was an Italian American physicist who, with Owen Chamberlain, won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the antiproton. ... Ettore Majorana (Catania, Sicily, 1906 – Tyrrhenian Sea, 27 March 1938 (presumed)) was an Italian physicist who began promising work on neutrino masses. ... The Via Panisperna boys were the young scientists led by Enrico Fermi who, in 1934 in Rome, made the famous discovery of slow neutrons that opened the way to the realization of the nuclear reactor and the atomic bomb. ... For other uses, see Palermo (disambiguation). ...

During their time in Rome, Fermi and his group made important contributions to many practical and theoretical aspects of physics. Some of these include the theory of beta decay, and the discovery of slow neutrons, which was to prove pivotal for the working of nuclear reactors. His group also 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 criticised 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. In nuclear physics, beta decay (sometimes called neutron decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle (an electron or a positron) is emitted. ... Nuclear power station at Leibstadt, Switzerland. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... For the generation of electrical power by fission, see Nuclear power plant. ... See also: List of elements by atomic number In chemistry and physics, the atomic number (also known as the proton number) is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom. ... Properties For other meanings of Atom, see Atom (disambiguation). ... A chemist pours from a round-bottom flask. ... Ida Noddack Tacke (25 February 1896 in Wesel - 1978) was a German chemist and physicist. ...

Fermi was well-known for his simplicity in solving problems^[1]. He began his inquiries with the simplest lines of mathematical reasoning, then later produced complete solutions to the problems he deemed worth pursuing. His abilities as the greatest combined theoretical and applied nuclear physicist of all time were acknowledged by and 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. Hans Albrecht Bethe (pronounced bay-tuh; July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005), was a German-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967 for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. ...

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. In nuclear physics, beta decay (sometimes called neutron decay) is a type of radioactive decay in which a beta particle (an electron or a positron) is emitted. ... Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ... Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Nature is a prominent scientific journal, first published on 4 November 1869. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Manhattan Project

Fermi remained in Rome until 1938.

In 1938, Fermi won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his "demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons". Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995) accepting the Nobel Prize for his work on magnetohydrodynamics [1]. List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ... Radioactive decay is the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles. ... Irradiation is the process by which an item is exposed to radiation. ... In nuclear physics, a nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei or nuclear particles collide to produce products different from the initial particles. ...

Fermi (bottom left), Szilárd (second from right on bottom), and the rest of the pile team.

After Fermi received the Nobel Prize in Stockholm, he, his wife Laura, and their children emigrated to New York. This was mainly because of the anti-Semitic laws promulgated by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini which threatened Laura, who was Jewish. Reactor team from University of Chicago. ... Reactor team from University of Chicago. ... The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ) was established in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... Mussolini redirects here. ...

Soon after his arrival in New York, Fermi began working at Columbia University. Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ...

In December 1938, the German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann sent a manuscript to Naturwissenschaften reporting they had detected the element barium after bombarding uranium with neutrons;^[2] simultaneously, they communicated these results to Lise Meitner. Meitner, and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch, correctly interpreted these results as being nuclear fission.^[3] Frisch confirmed this experimentally on 13 January 1939.^[4] In 1944, Hahn received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear fission. Some historians have documented the history of the discovery of nuclear fission and believe Meitner should have been awarded the Nobel Prize with Hahn.^{[5] [6] [7]} Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner, 1913, at the KWI for Chemistry in Berlin Otto Hahn (March 8, 1879 – July 28, 1968) was a German chemist and received the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. ... Fritz Strassman (February 22, 1902 - April 22, 1980) was a German physical chemist who, along with Otto Hahn, discovered the nuclear fission of uranium in 1938. ... Die Naturwissenschaften (The Natural Sciences) is a weekly publication of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. ... For other uses, see Barium (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Properties In physics, the neutron is a subatomic particle with no net electric charge and a mass of 940 MeV/c² (1. ... Lise Meitner ca. ... Otto Robert Frisch (1 October 1904–22 September 1979), Austrian-British physicist. ... For the generation of electrical power by fission, see Nuclear power plant. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to the present day. ...

Meitner’s and Frisch’s interpretation of the work of Hahn and Strassmann crossed the Atlantic Ocean with Niels Bohr, who was to lecture at Princeton University. Isidor Isaac Rabi and Willis Lamb, two Columbia University physicists working at Princeton, heard the news and carried it back to Columbia. Rabi said he told Enrico Fermi; Fermi gave credit to Lamb. Bohr soon thereafter went from Princeton to Columbia to see Fermi. Not finding Fermi in his office, Bohr went down to the cyclotron area and found Herbert L. Anderson. Bohr grabbed him by the shoulder and said: “Young man, let me explain to you about something new and exciting in physics.”^[8] It was clear to a number of scientists at Columbia that they should try to detect the energy released in the nuclear fission of uranium from neutron bombardment. On 25 January 1939, a Columbia University team conducted the first nuclear fission experiment in the United States,^[9] which was done in the basement of Pupin Hall; the members of the team were Herbert L. Anderson, Eugene T. Booth, John R. Dunning, Enrico Fermi, G. Norris Glasoe, and Francis G. Slack. The next day, at the Fifth Washington Conference on Theoretical Physics began in Washington, D.C. under the joint auspices of The George Washington University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. There, the news on nuclear fusion was spread even further, which fostered many more experimental demonstrations.^[10] Niels Henrik David Bohr (October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962) was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Isidor Isaac Rabi (July 29, 1898 - January 11, 1988) was an American physicist of Austro-Hungarian origin. ... Willis Eugene Lamb, Junior (b. ... Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... Pupin Hall Pupin Hall is the home of Columbia Universitys Physics Department. ... John Ray Dunning (September 24, 1907 - August 25, 1975) was a US physicist who played a key role in the development of the atomic bomb. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... The George Washington University (GW) is a private, coeducational university located in Washington, D.C., United States. ... The Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) is a foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1902 to support scientific research. ...

Fermi then went to the University of Chicago and began studies that led to the construction of the first nuclear pile Chicago Pile-1. For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... Nuclear power station at Leibstadt, Switzerland. ... On December 2, 1942, the worlds first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, Chicago Pile-1, took place on a squash court beneath Stagg Field on the University of Chicago campus. ...

Fermi recalled the beginning of the project in a speech given in 1954 when he retired as President of the American Physical Society: The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the worlds second largest organization of physicists. ...

Fermi's ID badge photo from Los Alamos.

"I remember very vividly the first month, January, 1939, that I started working at the Pupin Laboratories because things began happening very fast. In that period, Niels Bohr was on a lecture engagement at the Princeton University and I remember one afternoon Willis Lamb came back very excited and said that Bohr had leaked out great news. The great news that had leaked out was the discovery of fission and at least the outline of its interpretation. Then, somewhat later that same month, there was a meeting in Washington where the possible importance of the newly discovered phenomenon of fission was first discussed in semi-jocular earnest as a possible source of nuclear power."

An image from the Fermi-Szilárd "neutronic reactor" patent.

In August of 1939 Leó Szilárd prepared and Albert Einstein signed the famous letter warning President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the probability that the Nazis were planning to build an atomic bomb. Because of Hitler's September 1 invasion of Poland, it was October before they could arrange for the letter to be personally delivered. Roosevelt was concerned enough that the Uranium Committee was assembled and awarded Columbia University the first atomic energy funding of US$ 6,000. However, due to bureaucratic fears of foreigners doing secret research, the money was not actually issued until Szilárd implored Einstein to send a second letter to the president in the spring of 1940. The money was used in studies which led to the first nuclear reactor — Chicago Pile-1, a massive "atomic pile" of graphite bricks and uranium fuel which went critical on December 2, 1942, built in a hard racquets court under Stagg Field, the football stadium at the University of Chicago. Due to a mistranslation, Soviet reports on Enrico Fermi claimed that his work was performed in a converted "pumpkin field" instead of a "squash court", squash being an offshoot of hard racquets [1]. This experiment was a landmark in the quest for energy, and it was typical of Fermi's brilliance. Every step had been carefully planned, every calculation meticulously done by him. When the first self sustained nuclear chain reaction was achieved, a coded phone call was made by one of the physicists, Arthur Compton to James Conant, chairman of the National Defense Research Committee. The conversation was in impromptu code, (not a prearranged one): Image File history File links Enrico_Fermi_ID_badge. ... Image File history File links Enrico_Fermi_ID_badge. ... Los Alamos National Laboratory, aerial view from 1995. ... Pupin Hall, home of the Physics Department The Columbia University Physics Department includes approximately 40 faculty members teaching and conducting research in the areas of astrophysics, high energy nuclear physics, high energy particle physics, laser and condensed matter physics, and theoretical physics. ... Niels Henrik David Bohr (October 7, 1885 – November 18, 1962) was a Danish physicist who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Willis Eugene Lamb, Junior (b. ... For the generation of electrical power by fission, see Nuclear power plant. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... Jocular means with humour. For example, He was a jocular man, always laughing and joking with everyone! ... This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (507x800, 228 KB) Figure 38 from US Patent 2,708,656, Neutronic Reactor, awarded to Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (507x800, 228 KB) Figure 38 from US Patent 2,708,656, Neutronic Reactor, awarded to Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard. ... Leó Szilárd (February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964 Originally Szilárd Leó) was a Jewish Hungarian-American physicist who conceived the nuclear chain reaction and worked on the Manhattan Project. ... “Einstein” redirects here. ... Many years later, Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd re-enact the signing of the Einstein-Szilárd letter to Roosevelt. ... FDR redirects here. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... An invasion is a military action consisting of armed forces of one geopolitical entity entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of conquering territory, or altering the established government. ... The S-1 Uranium Committee was a Committee of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) that superseded the Briggs Advisory Committee on Uranium and later evolved into the Manhattan Project. ... Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... Atomic energy is an outdated phrase which can mean a number of things related to energy produced by atoms: In the late- 19th century through the early- 20th century, it was often used to describe the particles ejected by radioactive elements (especially radium). ... Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ... On December 2, 1942, the worlds first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, Chicago Pile-1, took place on a squash court beneath Stagg Field on the University of Chicago campus. ... Core of CROCUS, a small nuclear reactor used for research at the EPFL in Switzerland. ... For other uses, see Graphite (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... For other uses of critical mass, see critical mass (disambiguation). ... is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stagg Field was a stadium in Chicago, Illinois. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Pumpkin (disambiguation). ... Squash racquet and ball Players in a glass-backed squash court International Squash Singles Court, as specified by the World Squash Federation Squash is an indoor racquet sport that was formerly called Squash racquets, a reference to the squashable soft ball used in the game (compared with the harder ball... Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1927) for discovery of the Compton effect named in his honor. ... James Bryant Conant James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 - February 11, 1978) was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. ...

Compton: The Italian navigator has landed in the New World.

Conant: How were the natives?

Compton: Very friendly.

This successful initiation of a chain-reacting pile was important not only for its help in assessing the properties of fission — needed for understanding the internal workings of an atomic bomb — but because it would serve as a pilot plant for the massive reactors which would be created in Hanford, Washington, which would then be used to produce the plutonium needed for the bombs used at the Trinity site and Nagasaki. Eventually Fermi and Szilárd's reactor work was folded into the Manhattan Project. Hanford Site plutonium production reactors along the Columbia River during the Manhattan Project. ... This article is about the radioactive element. ... An early stage in the Trinity fireball. ... Megane-bashi (Spectacles Bridge) Nagasaki   listen? (長崎市; -shi, literally long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture located at the south-western coast of Kyushu, Japan. ... This article is about the World War II nuclear project. ...

Fermi moved to Los Alamos in the later stages of the Manhattan Project to serve as a general consultant. He was sitting in the control room of the Hanford B Reactor when it first went critical in 1944. His broad knowledge of many fields of physics was useful in solving problems that were of an interdisciplinary nature. Los Alamos usually refers to the United States national laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico which was founded during the World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb (the Manhattan Project), was one of the two laboratories developing the USAs nuclear weapons during the Cold War, and is... A consultant (from the Latin consultare meaning to discuss from which we also derive words such as consul and counsel) is a professional who provides expert advice in a particular area of expertise such as accountancy, the environment, technology, the law, human resources, marketing, medicine, finance, public affairs, communication, engineering... The B-Reactor at Hanford Site, Washington, was the first large scale plutonium production reactor ever built. ...

He became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America in 1944. Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ...

Post-War work

In Fermi's 1954 address to the APS he also said, "Well, this brings us to Pearl Harbor. That is the time when I left Columbia University, and after a few months of commuting between Chicago and New York, eventually moved to Chicago to keep up the work there, and from then on, with a few notable exceptions, the work at Columbia was concentrated on the isotope separation phase of the atomic energy project, initiated by Booth, Dunning and Urey about 1940". This article is about the actual attack. ... Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific isotopes of a chemical element by removing other isotopes, for example separating natural uranium into enriched uranium and depleted uranium. ...

Fermi was widely regarded as the only physicist of the twentieth century who excelled both theoretically and experimentally (Snow, 1981) (see link below in 'References'). The well-known historian of physics, C. P. Snow, says about him, "If Fermi had been born a few years earlier, one could well imagine him discovering Rutherford's atomic nucleus, and then developing Bohr's theory of the hydrogen atom. If this sounds like hyperbole, anything about Fermi is likely to sound like hyperbole". Fermi's ability and success stemmed as much from his appraisal of the art of the possible, as from his innate skill and intelligence. He disliked complicated theories, and while he had great mathematical ability, he would never use it when the job could be done much more simply. He was famous for getting quick and accurate answers to problems which would stump other people. An instance of this was seen during the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico on July 16 1945. As the blast wave reached him, Fermi dropped bits of paper. By measuring the distance they were blown, he could compare to a previously computed table and thus estimate the bomb energy yield. He estimated that the blast was greater than 10 kilotons of TNT, the measured result was 18.6. (Rhodes, page 674). Later on, this method of getting approximate and quick answers through back of the envelope calculations became informally known as the 'Fermi method'. Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, CBE (15 October 1905–1 July 1980) was a scientist and novelist. ... Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson OM PC FRS (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937), widely referred to as Lord Rutherford, was a nuclear physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics. ... The Bohr model of the hydrogen atom () or a hydrogen-like ion (), where the negatively charged electron confined to an atomic shell encircles a small positively charged atomic nucleus, and an electron jump between orbits is accompanied by an emitted or absorbed amount of electromagnetic energy . ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Largest metro area Albuquerque metropolitan area Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... A megaton or megatonne is a unit of mass equal to 1,000,000 metric tons, i. ... R-phrases S-phrases Related Compounds Related compounds picric acid hexanitrobenzene Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. ...

The Enrico Fermi street in Rome

Fermi's most disarming trait was his great modesty, and his ability to do any kind of work, whether creative or routine. It was this quality that made him popular and liked among people of all strata, from other Nobel Laureates to technicians. Henry DeWolf Smyth, who was Chairman of the Princeton Physics department, had once invited Fermi over to do some experiments with the Princeton cyclotron. Walking into the lab one day, Smyth saw the distinguished scientist helping a graduate student move a table, under another student's directions. Another time, a Du Pont executive made a visit to see him at Columbia. Not finding him either in his lab or his office, the executive was surprised to find the Nobel Laureate in the machine shop, cutting sheets of tin with a big pair of shears. Image File history File linksMetadata Viaenricofermi. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Viaenricofermi. ... Henry DeWolf Smyth (May 1, 1898 – September 11, 1986) was an American physicist, diplomat, and a bureaucrat who played a number of key roles in the early development of nuclear energy. ... A pair of Dee electrodes with loops of coolant pipes on their surface at the Lawrence Hall of Science. ... E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE: DD) was founded in July 1802 as a gun powder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont on Brandywine Creek, near Wilmington, Delaware. ... The Nobel Prizes (pronounced no-BELL or no-bell) are awarded annually to people who have done outstanding research, invented groundbreaking techniques or equipment, or made outstanding contributions to society. ...

After the war, Fermi served for a short time on the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission, a scientific committee chaired by Robert Oppenheimer which advised the commission on nuclear matters and policy. After the detonation of the first Soviet fission bomb in August 1949, he, along with Isidor Rabi, wrote a strongly worded report for the committee which opposed the development of a hydrogen bomb on moral and technical grounds. But Fermi also participated in preliminary work on the hydrogen bomb at Los Alamos as a consultant, and along with Stanislaw Ulam, calculated that the amount of tritium needed for Edward Teller's model of a thermonuclear weapon would be prohibitive, and a fusion reaction could not be assured to propagate even with this large quantity of tritium. Shield of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. ... J. Robert Oppenheimer[1] (April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist, best known for his role as the director of the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort to develop the first nuclear weapons, at the secret Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... Isidor Isaac Rabi (July 29, 1898 - January 11, 1988) was an American physicist of Austro-Hungarian origin. ... Stanisław Ulam in the 1950s. ... Tritium (symbol T or ³H) is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. ... Edward Teller (original Hungarian name Teller Ede) (January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-born American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as the father of the hydrogen bomb, even though he did not care for the title. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. ...

In his later years, Fermi did important work in particle physics, especially related to pions and muons. He was also known to be an inspiring teacher at the University of Chicago, and was known for his attention to detail, simplicity, and careful preparation for a lecture. Later, his lecture notes, especially those for quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, and thermodynamics, were transcribed into books which are still in print. In particle physics, pion (short for the Greek pi meson = P middle) is the collective name for three subatomic particles discovered in 1947: π0, π+ and π−. Pions are the lightest mesons. ... In the Standard Model of particle physics, a muon (Greek μείον = minus) is a semistable fundamental particle with negative electric charge and a spin of 1/2. ... For other uses, see University of Chicago (disambiguation). ... For a less technical and generally accessible introduction to the topic, see Introduction to quantum mechanics. ... Nuclear physics is the branch of physics concerned with the nucleus of the atom. ... Thermodynamics (from the Greek θερμη, therme, meaning heat and δυναμις, dynamis, meaning power) is a branch of physics that studies the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems at the macroscopic scale by analyzing the collective motion of their particles using statistics. ...

Also in these later years he mused about a proposition which is now referred to as the "Fermi Paradox". This absurd contradiction or proposition is this: that with the billions and billions of star systems in the universe, one would think that intelligent life would have contacted our civilization by now; yet this has not happened since it takes only about 600 years for a civilization to reach potential for annihilating itself with weapons of mass-destruction as it grows in knowledge exponentially.

Fermi died at age 53 of stomach cancer and was interred at Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. Two of his graduate students who assisted him in working on or near the nuclear pile also died of cancer. Fermi and his team knew that such work carried considerable risk but they considered the outcome so vital that they forged ahead with little regard for their own personal safety.^[11] Confederate Mound Oak Woods Cemetery was established in 1854 – five years earlier than Rosehill and Calvary – on an area of 74 ha (183 acres) located at 1035 E. 67th Street in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The first burials took place in 1860 and during the American Civil War, six thousand Confederate... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ...

As Eugene Wigner wrote: "Ten days before Fermi had died he told me, 'I hope it won't take long.' He had reconciled himself perfectly to his fate". Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian Wigner Pál Jenő) (November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian physicist and mathematician who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and...

A recent poll by Time magazine listed Fermi among the top twenty scientists of the century. “TIME” redirects here. ...

The Fermilab particle accelerator and physics lab in Batavia, Illinois, is named after him in loving memory from the physics community. Aerial view of the Fermilab site. ... Batavia is a city in Kane County, Illinois. ...

Fermi 1 & Fermi 2 nuclear power plants in Newport, Michigan are also named after him, as are many schools such as Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield, Connecticut. Named for Italian-American Enrico Fermi (borne in Rome), the first physicist to create a nuclear reactor, the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Power Plant is located between Detroit, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio near the community of Newport, Michigan. ... This article is about applications of nuclear fission reactors as power sources. ... Categories: Stub | Monroe County, Michigan | Unincorporated communities in Michigan ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Enfield (CT) Shaker Village Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. ...

In 1952, element 100 on the periodic table of elements was isolated from the debris of a nuclear test. In honor of Fermi's contributions to the scientific community, it was named fermium after him. The periodic table of the chemical elements, also called the Mendeleev periodic table, is a tabular display of the known chemical elements. ... General Name, Symbol, Number fermium, Fm, 100 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance unknown, probably silvery white or metallic gray Atomic mass (257) g·mol−1 Electron configuration [Rn] 5f12 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 30, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid...

Since the 1950s, the United States Atomic Energy Commission has named its highest honour, the Fermi Award, after him. Recipients of the award include well-known scientists like Otto Hahn, Robert Oppenheimer, Freeman Dyson, John Wheeler and Hans Bethe. The Enrico Fermi Award is a U.S. government Presidential award honoring scientists of international stature for their lifetime achievement in the development, use, or production of energy. ... Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner, 1913, at the KWI for Chemistry in Berlin Otto Hahn (March 8, 1879 – July 28, 1968) was a German chemist and received the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. ... J. Robert Oppenheimer[1] (April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physicist, best known for his role as the director of the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort to develop the first nuclear weapons, at the secret Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. ... Freeman John Dyson FRS (born December 15, 1923) is an English-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, nuclear weapons design and policy, and for his serious theorizing in futurism and science fiction concepts, including the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. ... John Archibald Wheeler (born July 9, 1911) is an eminent American theoretical physicist. ... Hans Albrecht Bethe (pronounced bay-tuh; July 2, 1906 – March 6, 2005), was a German-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967 for his work on the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. ...

Laura and Enrico Fermi Family Legacy

Enrico Fermi's mom built her own pressure cooker ("Enrico Fermi, Physicist", Segre, University of Chicago Press, 1970) and perhaps this inspired Enrico to build the first nuclear reactor in 1942. A pressure cooker is metal containing steam pressure. Enrico's pile was graphite containing uranium from exploding (copyright Olivia Fermi 2001-2008, unpublished manuscript). In 1928, Fermi married Laura Capon. They had two children while living in Rome, Italy: a daughter Nella Fermi Weiner, PhD (1931–1995), artist and feminist; and a son Giulio ("Judd") Fermi, PhD (1936–1997), biologist, who is survived by his wife Sarah Fermi, author of "Emily's Journal" (2006). Laura and Enrico's son Giulio worked with the Nobel laureate Max Perutz on the structure of hemoglobin. Max Ferdinand Perutz, OM (May 19, 1914 – February 6, 2002) was an Austrian-British molecular biologist. ... Structure of hemoglobin. ...

Toward the end of his life, Enrico realized his faith in society at large to make wise choices about nuclear technology was questionable ("Fermi Remembered", Cronin, ed., University of Chicago Press, 2004). Enrico Fermi said:

"Some of you may ask, what is the good of working so hard merely to collect a few facts which will bring no pleasure except to a few long-haired professors who love to collect such things and will be of no use to anybody because only few specialists at best will be able to understand them? In answer to such question[s] I may venture a fairly safe prediction.

History of science and technology has consistently taught us that scientific advances in basic understanding have sooner or later led to technical and industrial applications that have revolutionized our way of life. It seems to me improbable that this effort to get at the structure of matter should be an exception to this rule. What is less certain, and what we all fervently hope, is that man will soon grow sufficiently adult to make good use of the powers that he acquires over nature." (Enrico Fermi, The Future of Nuclear Physics, unpublished address, Rochester, NY, January 10, 1953, EFP, box 53.)

His wife, Laura Fermi (1907–1977), early environmentalist, systems thinker, prolific writer and New York Times bestselling author of "Atoms in the Family: Life with Enrico Fermi, Architect of the Atomic Age" (University of Chicago Press, 1954) said, of our nuclear dilemma:

"But above all, there were the moral questions. I knew scientists had hoped that the bomb would not be possible, but there it was and it had already killed and destroyed so much. Was war or was science to be blamed? Should the scientists have stopped the work once they realized that a bomb was feasible? Would there always be war in the future? To these kinds of questions there is no simple answer." (Laura Fermi, "Reminiscences of Los Alamos", edited by Lawrence Badash)

Rachel Fermi (1964–), photographer and teacher, Laura and Enrico Fermi's 3rd grandchild, continued to question the sanity of nuclear weapons in her book, published with Rachel Samra, introduction by Richard Rhodes: "Picturing the Bomb", Abrams pub, 1995). The authors juxtapose photos from the top secret world of the Manhattan Project with family photos from Los Alamos and Hanford.

Olivia Fermi (1957–), formerly Alice Caton, M.A. A.B.S. - Leadership in Human Systems, ConRes Cert, photoartist, writer and business consultant, Laura and Enrico's first grandchild, is currently researching the legacy of her grandparents for a series of books she plans to publish. http://fermieffect.com On September 29, 2001, shortly after the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City, Olivia flew to Rome, Italy to deliver a speech to the International Conference: Enrico Fermi and the Universe of Physics. She had been invited to speak to this gathering of physicists as a representative of the Laura and Enrico Fermi family. Olivia said:

"All of us alive today, and all who will come after us, are heirs to Enrico Fermi’s scientific legacy. We all have a stake in it. Since the end of World War II, humanity has had knowledge of nuclear energy and its incredible potential for benefit as well as harm.

"Enrico Fermi gave us a lot. And there is more to be done. Enrico Fermi’s work, and the work of other scientists, exists in a world full of people who, in a certain way, are like Enrico... [funny anecdotes about occasional Enrico errors]... He, like all of us, was both brilliant and fallible.

"We have a collective, developmental task. We must learn to integrate our scientific knowledge and our human experience to find the answers to the nuclear dilemma, and to the many other dilemmas facing us today. ... Our world has yet to find the right nuclear recipe – how to harness nuclear power for the benefit of all living things.

"We will need all of our human gifts to survive and flourish on this planet. From here, it looks to me like Enrico contributed all of his gifts. Now it’s up to us to contribute ours. We can look back to Enrico for inspiration, if we look to ourselves for the future." (Olivia Fermi (formerly Alice Caton), "Enrico Fermi in the Family", Speech presented at: Proceedings of the International 'Enrico Fermi and the Universe of Physics' Rome, Sept29 - Oct 2, 2001" Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei Istitutio Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, 2003). Her speech was translated into Italian and published by Promoteo, the Italian journal of arts and letters in the December 2001 issue. ("Fermi in Famiglia", Alice Caton (now Olivia Fermi), Promoteo Anno 19, Numero 76, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Dicembre 2001)

The two male grandchildren of Laura and Enrico are Olivia's brother: Paul Weiner, PhD (1959–), mathemetician and professor; and Rachel's brother: Daniel Fermi (1971–). Between Paul and Rachel, there are four great-grandchildren of Laura and Enrico Fermi. These two children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildrene are all the direct descendents of Laura and Enrico Fermi.

Patents

• U.S. Patent 2,206,634  — Process for the Production of Radioactive Substances, filed October, 1935, issued July, 1940
• U.S. Patent 2,524,379  — Neutron Velocity Selector, filed September, 1945, issued October, 1950
• U.S. Patent 2,708,656  — Neutronic reactor, with Leo Szilard, filed December, 1944, issued May, 1955
• U.S. Patent 2,768,134  — Testing Material in a Neutronic Reactor, filed August, 1945, issued October, 1956
• U.S. Patent 2,780,595  — Test Exponential Pile, filed May, 1944, issued February 1957
• U.S. Patent 2,798,847  — Method of Operating a Neutronic Reactor, filed December 1944, issued July, 1957
• U.S. Patent 2,807,581  — Neutronic Reactor, filed October 1945, issued September, 1957
• U.S. Patent 2,807,727  — Neutronic Reactor Shield, filed January 1946, issued September, 1957
• U.S. Patent 2,813,070  — Method of Sustaining a Neutronic Chain Reacting System, filed November, 1945, issued November, 1957
• U.S. Patent 2,836,554  — Air Cooled Neutronic Reactor
• U.S. Patent 2,837,477  — Chain Reacting System
• U.S. Patent 2,852,461  — Neutronic Reactor
• U.S. Patent 2,931,762  — Neutronic Reactor
• U.S. Patent 2,969,307  — Method of Testing Thermal Neutron Fissionable Material for Purity, filed November 1945, issued January 1961

Leó Szilárd (right) working with Albert Einstein. ...

See also

• Fermi paradox
• Fermi problem
• Fermi hole
• Fermion field
• Fermi's golden rule
• Scuola Normale Superiore
• Fermi linux
• Fermi level

A graphical representation of the Arecibo message - Humanitys first attempt to use radio waves to communicate its existence to alien civilizations The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for or contact with... In physics, particularly in physics education, a Fermi problem or Fermi question is an estimation problem designed to teach dimensional analysis, approximation, and the importance of clearly identifying ones assumptions. ... The Pauli exclusion principle is the rule that no more than two electrons can be in the same orbital. ... Fermions are particles whose quantum mechanical wavefunction is totally antisymmetric under quantum number interchange. ... In quantum physics, Fermis golden rule is a way to calculate the transition rate (probability of transition per unit time) from one energy eigenstate of a quantum system into a continuum of energy eigenstates, due to a perturbation. ... The Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, also known in Italian language as Scuola Normale (English: Normal High School College of Pisa or Normal School), is with no doubt the most elitary college in the whole Italian universities world. ... // About Fermi Linux LTS (Long Term Support) is in essence RedHat Enterprise, recompiled. ... In quantum mechanics, particles with a half-integer spin, usually spin 1/2 (for example electrons) follow the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no two particles may occupy the same quantum state. ...

Bibliography

• Laura Fermi, Atoms in the Family: My Life with Enrico Fermi (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954) ISBN 0-226-24367-2
• Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986).
• C. P. Snow, "The Physicists" (Toronto: Little, Brown, 1981)
• Emilio Segrè, Enrico Fermi—Physicist
• Fermi's audio biography at the University of Chicago website. (http://www-news.uchicago.edu/fermi/resources.html)
• Zinn W. E. (1955). "Fermi and Atomic Energy". Review of Modern Physics 27: 263–268. pdf
• http://www.chemsoc.org/viselements/Pages/fermium.html Page about the element fermium

Husband: Enrico Fermi. ... Richard Rhodes (born July 4, 1937) is an American author of fiction and verity, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb in 1986, and most recently, John James Audubon: the Making of an American in 2004. ... Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, CBE (15 October 1905–1 July 1980) was a scientist and novelist. ... Portrait of Dr. Emilio Segre Emilio Gino Segrè (February 1, 1905 - April 22, 1989) was an Italian American physicist who, with Owen Chamberlain, won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of the antiproton. ...

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Enrico Fermi

• Enrico Fermi at Find A Grave
• Obituary, NY Times, November 29, 1954, Enrico Fermi Dead at 53; Architect of Atomic Bomb
• About Enrico Fermi
• Life and works of Enrico Fermi (in Italian)
• Annotated bibliography on Enrico Fermi from the Alsos Digital Library
• The Story of the First Pile
• E-Book Enrico Fermi: The Master Scientist
• Samuel Abraham Goudsmit on the discovery of electron spin
• Fermi Commemorative Events
• Enrico Fermi's Case File at The Franklin Institute with info about his contributions to theoretical and experimental physics.
• Enrico Fermi in America by Valentine L. Telegdi

is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (140,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American...