Chronological Journey of Enrico Fermi: The Pioneer of the Nuclear Age

Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born physicist, and an American scientist respectfully called the Father of the Nuclear Age. He was undoubtedly an authentic child prodigy who evolved as one of the chief architects of the nuclear age. As said by David Schwartz in his book, Enrico Fermi was the last man who knew everything.

Let’s scroll down to feed our mind with his miraculous and phenomenal work, which made him a child prodigy, and he transformed the whole world.

Fermi’s Pupillage and Juvenility.

Enrico Fermi was born in Italy in 1901. His aptitude for physics and mathematics was incredible at an early stage only. As a young boy, he was very good at building electric motors and playing with mechanical and electrical toys.

Later, Fermi found a physics book named Elementorum physicae mathematicae, which was written in Latin by Andrea Caraffa. The book was of classical mechanics, mathematics, acoustics, optics, and astronomy.

He had an interest in science, which further got intensified by the companionship of his scientifically inclined friend. With him, Fermi coursed projects such as measuring the acceleration of Earth’s gravity and building gyroscopes, etc.

His inclination towards science and maths made him get himself indulged in various Physics and Mathematics books, which he assimilated quickly.

His Prodigious and Remarkable Journey.

Fermi remained largely self-taught. He learned tensor calculus, which was a technique key to general relativity. Initially, he chose mathematics as his major area of concern, but soon he switched to physics. He was very good at quantum mechanics, atomic physics, and general relativity.

▪In the third year of his university, Fermi presented his first scientific work. It got published in the Italian journal “Nuovo Cimento” in 1921.

▪He gained his doctorate in physics in 1922. He then went to Germany, where he worked with prominent physicists Max Born and Paul Ehrenfest.

▪In 1924, he returned to Italy and became a lecturer in mathematical physics and mechanics at the University of Florence.

Fermi discovered how elementary particles at a given temperature and chemical potential are scattered over different states of motion. Since the components of atoms behave this way, the law of this distribution plays a significant role in the physics of atoms and their nuclei. These were two of the main fields of Enrico Fermi’s research career.

Fermi developed the mathematical statistics needed to clarify a large class of subatomic phenomenons, discovered nuclear transformations caused by neutrons, and directed the first controlled chain reaction involving nuclear fission.

Enrico Fermi made one of the earliest verifications of the fission of uranium nuclei. And hence, he became the first Nuclear creator in the world.

His Legacy and Token of Achievements.

Enrico Fermi is doubtlessly an excellent theoretical and experimental physicist. Owing to his contributions in neutron bombardment of elements and slow neutrons’ reactivity, he won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938, at the bitty age of 37.

Fermi got a special award from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for his contributions to basic neutron physics and also for the achievement of the controlled nuclear chain reaction. In 1954, President Eisenhower honored Fermi with this award.

Since then, many personals of international eminence have been recognized with the Enrico Fermi Award for their prodigious scientific, technical and other management achievements, which are related to the broad missions of the U.S. Department of Energy and its programs.

Even after his death in 1956, Fermi got the Atomic Energy Commission as they named the laboratory the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. This Fermilab has been the site of numerous discoveries and explorations about subatomic particles and the forces that govern them.

Enrico Fermi was a true scientist to the core, with an impeccable intellect and an acclaimed world inventor. Well, this artifact is a small tribute to a strong and brilliant mind who was one of the greatest discoverers of all time.

Also Read :Arthur Rimbaud – A Child Prodigy And Literary Wunderkind