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This book tells the curious story of an unexpected finding that sheds light on a crucial moment in the development of physics: the discovery of artificial radioactivity induced by neutrons. The finding in question is a notebook, clearly written in Fermi's handwriting, which records the frenzied days and nights that Fermi spent experimenting alone, driven by his theoretical ideas on beta decay. The notebook was found by the authors while browsing through documents left by Oscar D'Agostino, the chemist among Fermi's group. From Fermi's notes, they reconstruct with skill and expertise the detailed timeline of the critical days leading up to his vital discovery. While much is already known about the road that led Fermi to his important result, this is the first time that it has been possible to reconstruct precisely when and how the initial evidence of neutron-induced decay was obtained. In relating this fascinating story, the book will be of great interest not only to those with a passionfor the history of science but also to a wider audience.
List of contents
Introduction.- 1 Fermi in Italy: his handwritten manuscripts.- 2 Fermi Archive at the Domus Galilaeana in Pisa.- 3 A hole in the Archive.- 4 How do we proceed.- 5 The start of Nuclear Physics in Rome.- 6 Fermi and Nuclear Physics: the first steps.- 7 The first international congress of Nuclear Physics: Rome,October 1931.- 8 An accurate scientific planning.- 9 "Nuclear" electrons and the "neutrino" at the Rome congress.- 10 Nuclear Physics in Rome after the Rome Congress: 1931-1133.- 11 The discovery of the neutron.- 12 Fermi at the 1932 Paris Congress.- 13 Orso Mario Corbino and particle accelerators.- 14 The official start of Nuclear Physics in Rome: March 1933.- 15 New particles and new theories.- 16 The positron or "anti-electron".- 17 The positron in the laboratory.- 18 The theory of nucleus according to Heisenberg-Majorana.- 19 Solvay Congress and Fermi theory of nuclear beta decay: October-Dicember 1933.- 20 The Seventh Solvay Congress.- 21 Fermi theory of beta decay.- 22 Thediscovery of alpha particle induced radioactivity.- 23 Frédéric Joliot and Irène Curie after the Solvay Congress.- 24 The discovery of alpha particle induced radioactivity.- 25 Why alpha particle induced radioactivity is discovered only in January.- 26 After the discovery.- 27 The discovery of neutron induced radioactivity.- 28 A project set aside.- 29 Gian Carlo Wick contribution.- 30 A very good starting point.- 31 A precedent case: Fluorine.- 32 The discovery of neutron induced radioactivity and the charge sign.- 33 After the discovery.- 34 Fermi strategic choices.- 35 A firm believe in the neutron.- 36 The choice of the source.- 37 The exploitation of the "geometry".- 38 Fermi at work: chronicle of a discovery.- 39 The Hirpine Notebook.- 40 The right side of the notebook.- 41 The counter.- 42 The inverted periodic table.- 43 The moment of the discovery.- 44 From Aluminum to Fluorine and more.- 45 The investigation on the periodic table and the start of team work.- 46 The gamma raysfrom the source.- 47 First chemical analysis and new nuclear reactions.- 48 The date and the hour of the discovery.- 49 Further developments and conclusion.- Fermi publications during the italian period.- Appendix (Letters to Majorana).- References.- Name Index.- Figure captions and credits.- Pictures.- Pages from Hirpine Notebook and Loose Sheets.
About the author
Francesco Guerra is Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Rome "La Sapienza", and associated to the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics and the Enrico Fermi Research Center in Rome. His research activity includes quantum field theory, elementary particle physics, statistical mechanics of complex systems, and the history of nuclear physics. He has published around two hundred scientific papers, as well as books and monographs. In 2008 he received the Prize for History of Physics from the Italian Physical Society. He is managing editor of the
European Physical Journal H (EPJ-H), which is devoted to historical perspectives in contemporary physics. Nadia Robotti is Full Professor of the History of Physics in the Department of Physics at the University of Genoa, and associated to the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics and the Enrico Fermi Research Center in Rome. Her research activity includes the historyof quantum mechanics and atomic and nuclear physics. She has published around 150 research articles, as well as books and monographs. In 2008 she received the Prize for History of Physics from the Italian Physical Society. She is vice-director of the
Giornale di Fisica and a member of the International Academy of the History of Science.
Summary
This book tells the curious story of an unexpected finding that sheds light on a crucial moment in the development of physics: the discovery of artificial radioactivity induced by neutrons. The finding in question is a notebook, clearly written in Fermi's handwriting, which records the frenzied days and nights that Fermi spent experimenting alone, driven by his theoretical ideas on beta decay. The notebook was found by the authors while browsing through documents left by Oscar D'Agostino, the chemist among Fermi's group. From Fermi's notes, they reconstruct with skill and expertise the detailed timeline of the critical days leading up to his vital discovery. While much is already known about the road that led Fermi to his important result, this is the first time that it has been possible to reconstruct precisely when and how the initial evidence of neutron-induced decay was obtained. In relating this fascinating story, the book will be of great interest not only to those with a passionfor the history of science but also to a wider audience.
