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Italian (later American-naturalized) Particle Physicist 

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Italian (later American-naturalized) Particle Physicist 

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The Fermi Paradox

Beta Decay Theory

Involvement with the Manhattan Project

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September 29, 1901 in Rome, Italy

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November 28, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois
(Cause of death: stomach cancer)

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Nuclear chain reactions

Spectroscopy (analyzing wavelengths of light)

Quantum electrodynamics

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(no known photos)

born ca. 1870, death year unknown

Worked for various railway companies, later becoming Division Manager of one company.

Alberto's family was Catholic, but he was non-religious.

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born ca. 1870, death year unknown

The daughter of an officer in the army, Ida worked as an elementary school teacher for most of her life.

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Giulio Fermi - born in 1900, died in 1915 during a minor medical procedure

Maria Fermi - born 1899, died 1959

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Received a doctorate in physics from the Scuola Normale Superiore in 1922 (University of Pisa - pictured above)

Studied abroad at the universities of Göttingen (in Germany) and Leiden (in the Netherlands) between 1924 and 1926

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Met Enrico because they were studying similar scientific subjects, and they shared an interest in physics
Married in 1928
Worked as a writer and activist during her life; fought for gun control and limiting air pollution

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Nella Fermi (middle right) | 1931 - 1995 | Artist and educator
Giulio Fermi (middle left) | 1936 - 1977 | Biologist

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Lectured in the University of Florence, later invited to be a professor of the University of Rome (his hometown.

Left for America with Laura due to anti-Semitic policies in Italy, got a professorship at Columbia University

Shifted to the University of Chicago and continued to work there for the rest of his life

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These fields focus on the fundamental particles that make up the universe and the forces that govern them (nuclear physics focuses specifically on atomic nuclei).

Originated in 5th century BC

Democritus and Leocippus theorized that everything in the universe was made of small indivisible particles

Developed in late 19th century

Discovery of radioactivity in 1896

J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron in 1897

Early 20th century

Ernest Rutherford proposed that atoms had a nucleus, and it was later discovered in 1932

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Other important/famous scientists in this field

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Other important/famous scientists in this field

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Albert Einstein

J.J. Thomson

Ernest Rutherford

Pierre and Marie Curie

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A glass prism separating white light into the different wavelengths of visible light.

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Investigates the emission and absorption of different electromagnetic wavelengths (including visible light and radiation.)

History:

Isaac Newton published a study of light and colors in 1672, and published the book "Optics" in 1704

W. H. Wollaston performed a slit experiment to examine how light disperses in 1802

Joseph Von Fraunhofer reproduced this in 1814 and created the first modern spectroscope

1854 - Gustav Kirchoff and Robert Bunsen showed that different chemicals and elements emit different wavelengths of visible light

Louis de Broglie theorized that the electron behaves like a wave rather than a single particle in 1923

Link: https://www.ossila.com/en-us/pages/history-of-spectroscopy

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Other famous or important spectroscopy scientists 

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Other famous or important spectroscopy scientists 

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Isaac Newton

Erwin Schrödinger

Lise Meitner

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Most Famous Project - The Manhattan Project

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Most Famous Project - The Manhattan Project

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Fermi worked with numerous other scientists and engineers (such as J. Robert Oppenheimer and Glenn T. Seaborg) to produce the first functional atomic bomb, two of which the United States used on Japan to end the second World War.

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One of the equations involved in Fermi's beta decay theory

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Beta decay is the process a proton or neutron undergoes to become the other in an atomic nucleus (e.g. a proton to a neutron) when there is an imbalance of either.

Previous equations required a third, unknown particle to work

Fermi incorporated the neutrino, theorized about in 1930, into new formulas in 1934

These equations laid the foundation for further research and the discovery of the atomic weak force

Link: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/fermi2.html

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Fermi discovered that at a specific wavelength of spectral lines, a particle shot at an atom could reveal all of the information about any particles that were knocked out of the atom. He referred to this as the "scattering length," a term still used in modern-day quantum mechanics.

Links:

https://www.springer.com/gp/about-springer/media/research-news/all-english-research-news/fermi-s-ground-breaking-figure/23525384

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjh/s13129-022-00042-z

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Fermi was often described as being self-assured, but not arrogant. He had an in-depth understanding of physics, knowing how to use and apply formulas more deeply than simple memorization. After his death, E Sergè wrote that he had a remarkable "clarity of thought" even in his final days.

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An image of the Carina Nebula taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.

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During his life, Fermi noticed a gap between the uncountable number of stars in the universe, containing likely trillions of habitable planets, and the observed lack of any intelligent spacefaring civilizations since humans began to look into the stars. This is the Fermi Paradox--how can there be so many opportunities for life in the universe, and at the same time none that have shown any trace that they exist?

This idea continues to be a major talking point in astronomy and astrobiology to this day.