On 29th September 1901, Enrico Fermi, one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century, was born in Rome.
Fermi’s work laid the foundation for nuclear energy and the atomic bomb, earning him the title “the father of the nuclear age.” His contributions to science were monumental, and his legacy continues to shape modern physics.
Fermi’s early academic brilliance earned him a scholarship to study at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, where he began his groundbreaking work in quantum mechanics and nuclear physics. His early research focused on neutron bombardment, which eventually led to his discovery of nuclear reactions caused by neutrons, a key step towards the development of nuclear fission.
Nobel Prize for Physics
In 1938, Fermi won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the induced radioactivity of elements, making him one of the youngest recipients of the prize at the time. That same year, due to increasing anti-Semitic laws in Italy under Mussolini’s regime, Fermi, who was married to a Jewish woman, fled to the United States. This move would significantly impact the course of his career, and world history.
Marconi – recipient of Nobel Prize for Physics
Once in the United States, Fermi became a leading figure in the Manhattan Project, the secretive government initiative that developed the first atomic bomb during World War II. On 2nd December 1942, under Fermi’s guidance, the world’s first controlled nuclear chain reaction was successfully initiated at the University of Chicago. This experiment marked the birth of the nuclear age, leading to both the development of nuclear weapons and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Questioning society’s choices about nuclear technology
Fermi questioned his faith in society at large to make wise choices about nuclear technology. He 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.
“The 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.
Clearly, Fermi’s legacy is not without controversy. While his contributions to science were invaluable, his involvement in the creation of the atomic bomb remains a complex ethical issue. Nonetheless, his advancements in physics continue to be used for both peaceful energy production and medical applications.
