Enrico Fermi: Pioneer of the atomic age
By: Ted Gottfried.
Series: Makers of modern science
Publisher: Facts on File
Published: 1992
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 138
Subjects: Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954 -- Juvenile literature.; Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954.; Nuclear energy -- History -- Juvenile literature.; Physicists -- Italy -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.; Nuclear physicists.; Nuclear energy.
First sentence: First came a blinding flash of light.
Description: Describes the life and work of the Nobel prize-winning physicist known for his research in the area of nuclear energy. The father of the nuclear age, Enrico Fermi was both a theorist and an experimental physicist. He had the intelligence to formulate the theory behind a gas following the Fermi-Dirac statistics and write a lucid analysis of Beta decay, but at the same time his experimental skills led him to discover radioactivity by neutron induction and even extract energy in a controlled manner from splitting the atom. This book also presents his life in Italy and why he migrated to the United States of America due to the authoritarian and dictatorial power known as Fascism. During the war and living in New Jersey, Fermi was categorized as an enemy alien. His restricted movements from his house to work on his experiments, first in New York and later in Chicago, are testimony of his dedication to science. His hard work brought us the first controlled chain reaction and eventually the first detonation of an atom bomb in the New Mexico desert. Time is short and Fermi is in a race against Nazism and its hatred. Many of the passages in this book are inspired by the book written by Laura Fermi "Atoms in the family: My life with Enrico Fermi".
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-133) and index.