Menu
Enrico Fermi
Please provide a rating, it takes seconds and helps us to keep this resource free for all to use
About Enrico Fermi
Born on September 29, 1901, in Rome, Italy, Enrico Fermi was one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century. He passed away on November 28, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. A devoted husband to Laura Capon, with whom he had two children, Fermi was a man of many interests, with a particular passion for mountaineering, besides his profound interest in physics.
Fermi received his doctorate from the University of Pisa and held teaching positions at several prestigious institutions including the University of Rome, before moving to the United States due to the rise of Fascism in Italy. In America, he took up a position at the University of Chicago, where he conducted his most significant work.
Fermi's interest in physics began at a young age when he was introduced to the subject by a colleague of his father's. This early interest developed into a lifelong pursuit of understanding the fundamental laws of the universe.
Enrico Fermi's Discoveries
Fermi made several groundbreaking discoveries in various fields of physics. His research in the field of nuclear physics led to the development of the first nuclear reactor, known as Chicago Pile-1. This monumental achievement paved the way for the use of nuclear energy and contributed to the creation of atomic weapons.
Like all scientists, Fermi faced many challenges during his research. These included not only scientific and technical obstacles but also geopolitical ones, such as the rise of fascism in his native Italy, which eventually led him to emigrate to the United States.
Enrico Fermi's Key Achievements
Fermi's key achievements are numerous and span a wide range of physics. He is renowned for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, his contributions to quantum theory, and the discovery of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 "for his demonstrations of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for his related discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons".
Enrico Fermi's Formulas
One of Fermi's significant contributions to physics is the Fermi-Dirac statistics, which describes a distribution of particles over energy states in systems consisting of many identical particles that obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle. It can be written as:
Where:
- f(E): The probability that a state of energy E will be occupied.
- E: The energy of the state.
- μ: The chemical potential, a quantity that determines the distribution of particles over energy states.
- k: Boltzmann's constant, relating the average kinetic energy in a gas with the temperature of the gas.
- T: The absolute temperature.
Enrico Fermi Tutorials and Calculators
The following tutorials and calculators are influenced by the work the great physicist Enrico Fermi, each calculator contains a tutorial that explains Enrico Fermi in the field