Enrico Fermi

b. 29 September 1901
d. 28 November 1954

Noteworthies:

• Nobel Laureate, Physics
• Namesake of Fermium on the Periodic Table
• Namesake of Fermi Labs
• Significant contributor to the Manhattan Project
  

Fermi, an Italian-born physicist, is probably the most complete physicist since Newton. He was equally and exceptionally gifted in both experimental and theoretical physics and is a contributor to (even arguably the father of) modern nuclear and particle physics. His life and gifts are extraordinary and are worth talking about.

He grew up in Italy, schooled by his mom in their unheated house. It was apparently so cold that he devised a way to turn the pages of his books with his tongue to keep from having to use his hands which he sat on to keep them warm. He was always a great experimenter, using his brother as an assistant. His interest -- or, rather, obsession -- with physics theory came at the tragic and early death of his brother. His first tutor recognized his unique ability to understand and remember physics and math.

"When he read a book, even once, he knew it perfectly and didn't forget it," (1) commented Adolfo Amidei when asked to recollect his student's progress. Later in his life he would even recite whole chapters of physics texts out loud while driving on long trips. His grasp of theory was so concrete that his friends nicknamed him "The Pope" for his infallibility. At college he would often pass his time lying on the grass writing textbooks from memory without any kind of notes or scratch paper. His writings were never interrupted with erased or crossed our words. Often, the director of the research lab where he worked would seek him out (he the student) and say simply, "teach me something." (1)

One of the skills for which Fermi is particularly well known is that of estimation. He possessed the ability to look at a system or a problem and produce remarkably accurate results without any research or calculation except for what was already in his head. When working at Los Alamos labs on the bomb, he accurately estimated the yield (explosive size) of a bomb by dropping scraps of paper as the shock wave passed him. He is also attributed to, without any sort of research or other-than-mental calculation, accurately estimating how many molecules were stripped off of a car tire each rotation, how many piano tuners were in the city of Chicago, and the number of molecules of water in a teaspoon versus the number of teaspoons of water on the planet. These kinds of problems are now actually referred to as Fermi Problems.

His Nobel prize was awarded for his work in nuclear physics, which described the actual process of beta particle emission. For years before, physicists knew that electrons were emitted from atomic nuclei, but were unclear as to where they came from. Fermi determined that a neutron in the nucleus of the atom actually turned itself into a proton by splitting into a proton and an electron-neutrino pair. Inherent in this is the discovery of subatomic particles—quarks—which has led to our knowledge of the history of the universe as well as our current descriptions of the cause of fundamental forces like gravity and magnetism.

He further categorized a class of particles known as fermions which follow certain quantum statistical rules, the understanding of which has led to our comprehension of the behavior of stars, the flow of electricity (and thus, cooper pairs and superconducting materials), which are used every day in current scientific research.

Most notably, Fermi invented or engineered many of the components of elementary nuclear reactors, which now power whole countries (not our own, unfortunately), and the United States Navy's submarines and aircraft carriers. He introduced the cadmium control rods that protect against meltdown during critical-phase nuclear reactions.

Fermi totally immersed himself in every project he undertook, often working around the clock (not because he was under a deadline, but because of his natural interest). He died of stomach cancer at the age of fifty three. "Fermi told [a friend] in 1945, at the end of the war, that he had then completed about one-third of his life's work. By that reckoning, when he died nine years later, Enrico Fermi had given us no more than half of what he had to offer." (1)

1. Cropper, William H., Great Physicists. New York : Oxford University Press, 2001.