The last man who knew everything
Subtitle: the life and times of Enrico Fermi, father of the nuclear age
By: David N. Schwartz
Publisher: Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 480
ISBN-13: 9780465072927
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Nuclear physicists; Physicists; Biography
Description: The definitive biography of the brilliant, charismatic, and very human physicist and innovator Enrico Fermi In 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who knew everything--at least about physics. But he was also a complex figure who was a part of both the Italian Fascist Party and the Manhattan Project, and a less-than-ideal father and husband who nevertheless remained one of history's greatest mentors. Based on new archival material and exclusive interviews, The Last Man Who Knew Everything lays bare the enigmatic life of a colossus of twentieth century physics.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Prodigy; title: Pisa; title: Germany and Holland; title: Quantum breakthroughs; title: Of geckos and men; title: Family life; title: The Rome School; title: Beta rays; title: Goldfish; title: Physics as soma; title: The Nobel Prize; title: The new world; title: Splitting the atom; title: Fermi meets the Navy; title: Piles of graphite; title: The move to Chicago; title: Squash courts; title: Xenon-135; title: On a mesa; title: An unholy Trinity; title: Return to Chicago; title: In the public eye; title: A patent fight; title: Brilliant teacher, beloved mentor; title: Travels abroad; title: Home to die; title: Fermi's legacy.