Enrico Fermi 10264 225815464 2008-07-15T15:14:03Z 18.98.6.105 /* The Manhattan Project */ {{redirect|Fermi}} {{Infobox Scientist | name = Enrico Fermi | image = Enrico Fermi 1943-49.jpg | birth_date = {{birth date|1901|9|29|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Rome]], [[Italy]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1954|11|28|1901|9|29}} | death_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], [[United States|U.S.]] | citizenship = [[Italy]] (1901-1938)<br>[[United States]] (1944-1954) | field = [[Physics]] | alma_mater = [[Scuola Normale Superiore]] | work_institutions = [[Scuola Normale Superiore]] in [[Pisa]]<br>[[University of Göttingen]]<br>[[University of Leiden]]<br>[[University of Rome La Sapienza]]<br>[[Columbia University]]<br>[[University of Chicago]] | doctoral_advisor = [[Luigi Puccianti]] | doctoral_students = [[Owen Chamberlain]] [[Image:Nobel medal dsc06171.jpg|20px]]<br>[[Geoffrey Chew]]<br>[[Mildred Dresselhaus]]<br>[[Jerome I. Friedman]] [[Image:Nobel medal dsc06171.jpg|20px]]<br>[[Marvin Leonard Goldberger]]<br>[[Tsung-Dao Lee]] <br>[[Ettore Majorana]]<br>[[James Rainwater]] [[Image:Nobel medal dsc06171.jpg|20px]]<br>[[Marshall Rosenbluth]]<br>[[Arthur Rosenfeld]]<br>[[Emilio Segrè]] [[Image:Nobel medal dsc06171.jpg|20px]]<br>[[Jack Steinberger]] [[Image:Nobel medal dsc06171.jpg|20px]]<br>[[Sam Treiman]]<br> | known_for = New [[radioactive]] elements produced by [[neutron]] irradiation<br>Controlled [[nuclear chain reaction]], <br>[[Fermi-Dirac statistics]]<br>Theory of [[beta decay]] | prizes = [[Nobel Prize for Physics]] (1938) [[Image:Nobel medal dsc06171.jpg|20px]]}} '''Enrico Fermi''' ([[September 29]], [[1901]] &ndash; [[November 28]], [[1954]]) was an [[Italy|Italian]] physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first [[nuclear reactor]], and for his contributions to the development of [[Quantum mechanics|quantum theory]], [[nuclear physics|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. He is acknowledged as a unique physicist who was highly accomplished in both theory and experiment.<ref> {{cite book |first=Charles |last=Snow |title=The Physicists: A Generation that Changed the World |publisher=Little Brown |year=1981}} </ref> [[Fermium]], a [[synthetic element]] created in 1952 is named after him. ==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 [[gyroscope]]s, 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. 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 derivative|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 used to indulge in light hearted pranks. Later, Rasetti became Fermi's close friend and collaborator. 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 [[professor]]ship in [[University of Rome La Sapienza|Rome]] (the first for [[atomic physics]] in Italy, which he won in a competition created by professor [[OM Corbino|Orso Mario Corbino]], director of the Institute of Physics). [[OM Corbino|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. 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 [[neutron]]s, 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. Fermi was well-known for his simplicity in solving problems<ref>{{cite book | author = Richard Rhodes | title = The Making of the Atomic Bomb | date = 1986 | publisher = Simon and Schuster}} </ref>. 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. When Fermi submitted his famous paper on [[beta decay]] to the prestigious journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', the journal's [[editing|editor]] turned it down because "it contained speculations which were too remote from reality". Thus, Fermi saw the theory published in [[Italian language|Italian]] and in [[German language|German]] before it was published in [[English language|English]]. ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' eventually did publish Fermi's report on beta decay on [[January 16]], [[1939]]. ==The Manhattan Project== Fermi remained in Rome until 1938. In 1938, Fermi won the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] at the age of 37 for his "demonstrations of the existence of new [[radioactive]] elements produced by neutron [[irradiation]], and for his related discovery of [[nuclear reaction]]s brought about by slow neutrons". [[Image:ChicagoPileTeam.png|right|thumb|250px|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-Semitism|anti-Semitic]] laws promulgated by the [[fascist]] regime of [[Benito Mussolini]] which threatened Laura, who was Jewish. Also, the new laws put most of Fermi's research assistants out of work. Soon after his arrival in New York, Fermi began working at [[Columbia University]]. In December 1938, the German chemists [[Otto Hahn]] and [[Fritz Strassmann]] sent a manuscript to ''[[Die Naturwissenschaften| Naturwissenschaften]]'' reporting they had detected the element [[barium]] after bombarding [[uranium]] with [[neutrons]];<ref> O. Hahn and F. Strassmann ''Über den Nachweis und das Verhalten der bei der Bestrahlung des Urans mittels Neutronen entstehenden Erdalkalimetalle'' (''On the detection and characteristics of the alkaline earth metals formed by irradiation of uranium with neutrons''), ''Naturwissenschaften'' Volume 27, Number 1, 11-15 (1939). The authors were identified as being at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Chemie, Berlin-Dahlem. Received 22 December 1938.</ref> simultaneously, they communicated these results to [[Lise Meitner]]. Meitner, and her nephew [[Otto Robert Frisch]], correctly interpreted these results as being [[nuclear fission]].<ref>Lise Meitner and O. R. Frisch ''Disintegration of Uranium by Neutrons: a New Type of Nuclear Reaction'', ''Nature'', Volume 143, Number 3615, 239-240 [http://www.nature.com/physics/looking-back/meitner/index.html (11 February 1939)]. The paper is dated 16 January 1939. Meitner is identified as being at the Physical Institute, Academy of Sciences, Stockholm. Frisch is identified as being at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Copenhagen. </ref> Frisch confirmed this experimentally on 13 January 1939.<ref> O. R. Frisch ''Physical Evidence for the Division of Heavy Nuclei under Neutron Bombardment'', ''Nature'', Volume 143, Number 3616, 276-276 [http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/webdocs/Chem-History/Frisch-Fission-1939.html (18 February 1939)]. The paper is dated 17 January 1939. [The experiment for this letter to the editor was conducted on 13 January 1939; see Richard Rhodes ''The Making of the Atomic Bomb'' 263 and 268 (Simon and Schuster, 1986).]</ref> 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.<ref> Ruth Lewin Sime ''From Exceptional Prominence to Prominent Exception: Lise Meitner at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry'' [http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/KWG/Ergebnisse/Ergebnisse24.pdf Ergebnisse 24] Forschungsprogramm ''Geschichte der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft im Nationalsozialismus'' (2005).</ref> <ref> Ruth Lewin Sime ''Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics'' (University of California, 1997).</ref> <ref> Elisabeth Crawford, Ruth Lewin Sime, and Mark Walker ''A Nobel Tale of Postwar Injustice'', ''Physics Today'' Volume 50, Issue 9, 26-32 (1997).</ref> 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.”<ref> Richard Rhodes ''The Making of the Atomic Bomb'' 268 (Simon and Schuster, 1986).</ref> 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,<ref> H. L. Anderson, E. T. Booth, J. R. Dunning, E. Fermi, G. N. Glasoe, and F. G. Slack ''The Fission of Uranium'', ''Phys. Rev.'' Volume 55, Number 5, 511 - 512 (1939). Institutional citation: Pupin Physics Laboratories, Columbia University, New York, New York. Received 16 February 1939.</ref> 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, 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 fission was spread even further, which fostered many more experimental demonstrations.<ref> Richard Rhodes ''The Making of the Atomic Bomb'' 267-270 (Simon and Schuster, 1986).</ref> Fermi then went to the [[University of Chicago]] and began studies that led to the construction of the first [[nuclear pile]] [[Chicago Pile-1]]. Fermi recalled the beginning of the project in a speech given in 1954 when he retired as President of the [[American Physical Society]]: [[Image:Enrico Fermi ID badge.png|left|thumb|200px|Fermi's ID badge photo from [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|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 [[nuclear fission|fission]] and at least the outline of its interpretation. Then, somewhat later that same month, there was a meeting in [[Washington, D.C.|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]]." [[Image:Fermi-Szilard Neutronic Reactor - Figure 38.png|right|200px|thumb|An image from the Fermi-Szilárd "neutronic reactor" patent.]] In August of 1939 [[Leó Szilárd]] prepared and [[Albert Einstein]] signed the [[Einstein-Szilárd letter|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]] &mdash; [[Chicago Pile-1]], a massive "[[Nuclear reactor technology|atomic pile]]" of [[graphite]] bricks and [[uranium]] fuel which went [[critical mass|critical]] on [[December 2]], [[1942]], built in a hard racquets court under [[Stagg Field]], the [[American football|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 (sport)|squash court]]", squash being an offshoot of hard racquets<ref>http://www.anl.gov/Science_and_Technology/History/Anniversary_Frontiers/unisci.html</ref>. 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 Bryant Conant|James Conant]], chairman of the National Defense Research Committee. The conversation was in impromptu code: :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 &mdash; needed for understanding the internal workings of an atomic bomb &mdash; but also because it would serve as a pilot plant for the massive reactors which would be created in [[Hanford Site|Hanford, Washington]], which would then be used to produce the [[plutonium]] needed for the bombs used at the [[Trinity site]] and [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]]. Eventually Fermi and Szilárd's reactor work was folded into the [[Manhattan 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. He became a [[naturalized citizen]] of the United States of America in 1944. Fermi was present as an observer of the [[Trinity test]] on July 16, 1945. Engineer [[Jack Aeby]] saw Fermi at work: {{cquote| As the shock wave hit Base Camp, Aeby saw Enrico Fermi with a handful of torn paper. "He was dribbling it in the air. When the shock wave came it moved the confetti. He thought for a moment." Fermi had just estimated the yield of the first nuclear explosion. It was in the ball park.<ref>[http://larrycalloway.com/historic.html?_recordnum=105 The Trinity Test: Eyewitnesses]</ref> }} Fermi's strips-of-paper estimate was ten kilotons of TNT; the actual yield was about 19 kilotons<ref>[http://www.lanl.gov/history/atomicbomb/pdf/Enrico%20Fermis%20Observations%20at%20Trinity,%20July%2016,%201945.pdf Enrico Fermi's Observations at Trinity] </ref><ref> [[Nuclear weapon yield#Milestone nuclear explosions]]</ref> ==Post-War work== In Fermi's 1954 address to the APS he also said, "Well, this brings us to [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|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". Fermi was widely regarded as the only physicist of the twentieth century who excelled both theoretically and experimentally (Snow, 1981) (see [http://www-news.uchicago.edu/fermi/resources.html 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 [[Ernest Rutherford|Rutherford's]] atomic nucleus, and then developing [[Bohr model|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 [[kiloton]]s of [[trinitrotoluene|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'. [[Image:Viaenricofermi.jpg|left|thumb|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. After the war, Fermi served for a short time on the General Advisory Committee of the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|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|Edward Teller's]] model of a [[thermonuclear weapon]] would be prohibitive, and a [[Nuclear fusion|fusion reaction]] could not be assured to propagate even with this large quantity of tritium. 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. 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.<ref> {{cite book |first=George |last=Johnson |title=Strange Beauty: Murray Gell-Mann and the Revolution in Twentieth Century Physics |publisher=Vintage |year=2000 |page=255}} </ref> 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". A recent poll by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine listed Fermi among the top twenty scientists of the century. The [[Fermilab]] particle accelerator and physics lab in [[Batavia, Illinois]], is named after him in loving memory from the physics community. [[Fermi 1]] & Fermi 2 [[nuclear power]] plants in [[Newport, Michigan|Newport]], [[Michigan]] are also named after him, as are many schools such as Enrico Fermi High School in [[Enfield, Connecticut]]. Fermi Court in [[Deep River, Ontario]] is named in his honour. 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. 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 Archibald Wheeler|John Wheeler]] and [[Hans Bethe]]. ==Laura and Enrico Fermi Family Legacy== Enrico Fermi's mother 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&ndash;1995), artist and feminist; and a son Giulio ("Judd") Fermi, PhD (1936&ndash;1997). Laura and Enrico's son Giulio worked with the Nobel laureate [[Max Perutz]] on the 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&ndash;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&ndash;), 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&ndash;), 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, Sept 29 – 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&ndash;), mathematician and professor; and Rachel's brother: Daniel Fermi (1971&ndash;). Between Paul and Rachel, there are four great-grandchildren of Laura and Enrico Fermi. These two children, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren are all the direct descendents of Laura and Enrico Fermi. ==Patents== * {{US patent|2206634}} &mdash; ''Process for the Production of Radioactive Substances'', filed October, 1935, issued July, 1940 * {{US patent|2524379}} &mdash; ''Neutron Velocity Selector'', filed September, 1945, issued October, 1950 * {{US patent|2708656}} &mdash; ''Neutronic reactor'', with [[Leó Szilárd]], filed December, 1944, issued May, 1955 * {{US patent|2768134}} &mdash; ''Testing Material in a Neutronic Reactor'', filed August, 1945, issued October, 1956 * {{US patent|2780595}} &mdash; ''Test Exponential Pile'', filed May, 1944, issued February 1957 * {{US patent|2798847}} &mdash; ''Method of Operating a Neutronic Reactor'', filed December 1944, issued July, 1957 * {{US patent|2807581}} &mdash; ''Neutronic Reactor'', filed October 1945, issued September, 1957 * {{US patent|2807727}} &mdash; ''Neutronic Reactor Shield'', filed January 1946, issued September, 1957 * {{US patent|2813070}} &mdash; ''Method of Sustaining a Neutronic Chain Reacting System'', filed November, 1945, issued November, 1957 * {{US patent|2836554}} &mdash; ''Air Cooled Neutronic Reactor'' * {{US patent|2837477}} &mdash; ''Chain Reacting System'' * {{US patent|2852461}} &mdash; ''Neutronic Reactor'' * {{US patent|2931762}} &mdash; ''Neutronic Reactor'' * {{US patent|2969307}} &mdash; ''Method of Testing Thermal Neutron Fissionable Material for Purity'', filed November 1945, issued January 1961 ==See also== *[[Fermion field]] *[[Fermi's golden rule]] *[[Fermi hole]] *[[Fermi level]] *[[Fermi linux]] *[[Fermi paradox]] *[[Fermi problem]] *[[Scuola Normale Superiore]] * ''Fermi's pile''. A song written by [[Mark Hunstone]] and performed by Australian pop/rock band [[The Feldons]] on the 2008 album ''A Cabinet of Human Oddities''. ==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), (ISBN 978-0-684-81378-3). * [[C. P. Snow]], "The Physicists" (Toronto: Little, Brown, 1981) (ISBN 1-842-32436-5) * [[Emilio Segrè]], ''Enrico Fermi&mdash;Physicist'', The University of Chicago Press (ISBN 0-226-74473-6) * [http://www-news.uchicago.edu/fermi/resources.html University of Chicago website] Fermi's audio biography. *{{cite journal | author= Zinn W. E. | title= Fermi and Atomic Energy| journal= Review of Modern Physics | year= 1955 | volume= 27 | pages= 263&ndash;268 | doi= 10.1103/RevModPhys.27.263 }} [http://prola.aps.org/pdf/RMP/v 27/i3/p263_1 pdf] *[http://www.chemsoc.org/viselements/Pages/fermium.html Page about the element [[Fermium]]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Commons|Enrico Fermi}} *[http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/fermi.html Biography and Bibliographic Resources], from the [[Office of Scientific and Technical Information]], [[United States Department of Energy]] * {{Findagrave|331}} * [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0929.html Obituary, NY Times, November 29, 1954, ''Enrico Fermi Dead at 53; Architect of Atomic Bomb''] * [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1938/ Nobel prize page for the 1938 physics' prize] * [http://www.nobel-winners.com/Physics/enrico_fermi.html About Enrico Fermi] * [http://keynes.scuole.bo.it/ipertesti/fermi/ Life and works of Enrico Fermi] (in Italian) * [http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people/Fermi,+Enrico Annotated bibliography on Enrico Fermi from the Alsos Digital Library] * [http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/firstpile/index.shtml The Story of the First Pile] * [http://dspace.library.cornell.edu/handle/1813/62 E-Book Enrico Fermi: The Master Scientist ] * [[Samuel Abraham Goudsmit]] on the [http://www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/history/spin/goudsmit.html discovery of electron spin] * [http://fermi.lib.uchicago.edu/fermicommemoration.htm Fermi Commemorative Events] * [http://www.fi.edu/learn/case-files/fermi/ Enrico Fermi's Case File] at The Franklin Institute with info about his contributions to theoretical and experimental physics. * [http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-55/iss-6/p38.html Enrico Fermi in America] by Valentine L. Telegdi *[http://www.thefeldons.com/musicmusings.cfm ''Fermi's Pile''] by The Feldons {{Nobel Prize in Physics Laureates 1926-1950}} {{Presidents of the American Physical Society}} {{Manhattan Project}} {{Persondata |NAME=Fermi, Enrico |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Nobel Prize-winning physicist |DATE OF BIRTH={{birth date|1901|9|29|mf=y}} |PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Rome]], [[Italy]] |DATE OF DEATH={{death date|1954|11|28|mf=y}} |PLACE OF DEATH=[[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], [[United States|U.S.]] }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Fermi, Enrico}} [[Category:1901 births]] [[Category:1954 deaths]] [[Category:American physicists]] [[Category:Columbia University faculty]] [[Category:Experimental physicists]] [[Category:Italian Nobel laureates]] [[Category:Italian physicists]] [[Category:Italian-Americans]] [[Category:Manhattan Project people]] [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]] [[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]] [[Category:People from Rome (city)]] [[Category:Stomach cancer deaths]] [[Category:Theoretical physicists]] [[Category:Thermodynamicists]] [[Category:University of Chicago faculty]] [[Category:University of Göttingen faculty]] [[Category:University of Pisa alumni]] [[Category:University of Rome La Sapienza faculty]] {{Link FA|sl}} [[ar:إنريكو فيرمي]] [[an:Enrico Fermi]] [[ast:Enrico Fermi]] [[az:Enriko Fermi]] [[bn:এনরিকো ফের্মি]] [[zh-min-nan:Enrico Fermi]] [[bs:Enrico Fermi]] [[br:Enrico Fermi]] [[bg:Енрико Ферми]] [[ca:Enrico Fermi]] [[cs:Enrico Fermi]] [[da:Enrico Fermi]] [[de:Enrico Fermi]] [[et:Enrico Fermi]] [[el:Ενρίκο Φέρμι]] [[es:Enrico Fermi]] [[eo:Enrico Fermi]] [[eu:Enrico Fermi]] [[fa:انریکو فرمی]] [[fr:Enrico Fermi]] [[gl:Enrico Fermi]] [[ko:엔리코 페르미]] [[hi:एन्रीको फर्मी]] [[hr:Enrico Fermi]] [[io:Enrico Fermi]] [[id:Enrico Fermi]] [[ia:Enrico Fermi]] [[is:Enrico Fermi]] [[it:Enrico Fermi]] [[he:אנריקו פרמי]] [[jv:Enrico Fermi]] [[pam:Enrico Fermi]] [[sw:Enrico Fermi]] [[ku:Enrico Fermi]] [[la:Henricus Fermi]] [[lv:Enriko Fermi]] [[lb:Enrico Fermi]] [[lt:Enrico Fermi]] [[lij:Enrico Fermi]] [[hu:Enrico Fermi]] [[mk:Енрико Ферми]] [[mr:एन्रिको फर्मी]] [[ms:Enrico Fermi]] [[nl:Enrico Fermi]] [[ja:エンリコ・フェルミ]] [[no:Enrico Fermi]] [[oc:Enrico Fermi]] [[pl:Enrico Fermi]] [[pt:Enrico Fermi]] [[ro:Enrico Fermi]] [[rm:Enrico Fermi]] [[qu:Enrico Fermi]] [[ru:Ферми, Энрико]] [[sa:एन्रीको फर्मी]] [[sco:Enrico Fermi]] [[scn:Enricu Fermi]] [[simple:Enrico Fermi]] [[sk:Enrico Fermi]] [[sl:Enrico Fermi]] [[sr:Енрико Ферми]] [[sh:Enrico Fermi]] [[fi:Enrico Fermi]] [[sv:Enrico Fermi]] [[ta:என்ரிக்கோ பெர்மி]] [[tl:Enrico Fermi]] [[th:เอนรีโก แฟร์มี]] [[vi:Enrico Fermi]] [[tr:Enrico Fermi]] [[uk:Фермі Енріко]] [[vo:Enrico Fermi]] [[war:Enrico Fermi]] [[zh:恩里科·费米]]