The Fascinating Life and Work of Physicist Enrico Fermi
David N. Schwartz
Fermi National Accelerator Lab December 13, 2017
How we usually think of him
Or perhaps like this
How I think of him
There’s a story behind that orange line on the right of the
image…..
Circles and lines
KEY DATES
1901 – Born in Rome
1922 – Graduate University
1925 – Statistics
1926 – Professor at University of Rome
1933 – Theory of Beta Decay
1934 – Slow neutrons
1938 – Nobel Prize
1939 – Professor at Columbia
1942 – Move to Chicago
1942 – CP-1
1943 –45 – Manhattan Project
1946 – Back to Chicago
1954 – Death from cancer age 53
A Study In Contrasts
•
Fermi used ideas from one area to solve
problems in other seemingly unrelated areas
•
Pauli’s exclusion principle applied to
electron orbitals. Fermi applied it to atoms
in a monatomic gas - Fermi Dirac
Statistics.
•
Dirac’s quantum field applied to
electrodynamics. Fermi applied it to beta
decay.
•
Rough and ready, little interest in
elegance
•
Hands on, played a central part
in
every
experiment.
•
“Never make something more accurate
than it needs to be.”
•
Neutron experiments, CP-1
•
Pion experiments, cyclotron trolley
How Fermi Became Fermi
Nature – what he was born with
Nurture – what he was given
Circumstance – the accidents of his life
Nature
As a child his genius was recognized
The story of Reye’s Projective Geometry
The story of spinning tops
Poisson’s Mechanics
Chwolson’s Treatise
Not fast – contrast with von Neumann - BUT
Thoroughness and ferocious curiosity
Nurture
Amidei’s curriculum
Trig, Analytical Geometry, Calc
Poisson’s Two Volume Mechanique
Impact of other mentors
Puccianti, Ehrenfest, Born, Corbino
Impact of colleagues – the need to teach
Circumstance
“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.”
CP Snow
•
Rise of fascism in Fermi’s early years
•
Quantum problems of 1923 – 1925
•
Failure to observe fission 1934
•
Szilard’s presence at Columbia 1939
•
Fermi born in 1850?
•
Fermi born in 2000?
Did He Really Say This?
He really did say:
“Emilio, I am getting rusty and old. I cannot follow the
highbrow theory developed by Oppenheimer’s pupils
anymore. I went to their seminar and was depressed by
my inability to understand them. Only the last
sentence cheered me up; it was, ‘and this is Fermi’s
theory of beta decay.’”
Enrico Fermi, a renowned physicist, made significant contributions to the field of quantum mechanics and nuclear physics. Born in Rome in 1901, he went on to receive the Nobel Prize in 1938 for his work on slow neutrons. Fermi's innovative approach as a theorist and experimenter set him apart in the scientific community. This summary explores key dates in his life, highlights his unique methods and achievements, and delves into the nature versus nurture debate surrounding his genius.
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Presentation Transcript
David N. Schwartz Fermi National Accelerator Lab December 13, 2017
How I think of him There s a story behind that orange line on the right of the image ..
KEY DATES 1901 Born in Rome 1922 Graduate University 1925 Statistics 1926 Professor at University of Rome 1933 Theory of Beta Decay 1934 Slow neutrons 1938 Nobel Prize 1939 Professor at Columbia 1942 Move to Chicago 1942 CP-1 1943 45 Manhattan Project 1946 Back to Chicago 1954 Death from cancer age 53
Fermi as a Theorist Fermi used ideas from one area to solve problems in other seemingly unrelated areas Pauli s exclusion principle applied to electron orbitals. Fermi applied it to atoms in a monatomic gas - Fermi Dirac Statistics. Dirac s quantum field applied to electrodynamics. Fermi applied it to beta decay.
Rough and ready, little interest in elegance Hands on, played a central part in every experiment. Never make something more accurate than it needs to be. Neutron experiments, CP-1 Pion experiments, cyclotron trolley
How Fermi Became Fermi Nature what he was born with Nurture what he was given Circumstance the accidents of his life
Nature As a child his genius was recognized The story of Reye s Projective Geometry The story of spinning tops Poisson s Mechanics Chwolson s Treatise Not fast contrast with von Neumann - BUT Thoroughness and ferocious curiosity
Nurture Amidei s curriculum Trig, Analytical Geometry, Calc Poisson s Two Volume Mechanique Impact of other mentors Puccianti, Ehrenfest, Born, Corbino Impact of colleagues the need to teach
Circumstance 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. CP Snow
Circumstance Rise of fascism in Fermi s early years Quantum problems of 1923 1925 Failure to observe fission 1934 Szilard s presence at Columbia 1939 Fermi born in 1850? Fermi born in 2000?
He really did say: Emilio, I am getting rusty and old. I cannot follow the highbrow theory developed by Oppenheimer s pupils anymore. I went to their seminar and was depressed by my inability to understand them. Only the last sentence cheered me up; it was, and this is Fermi s theory of beta decay.
