Enrico Fermi (29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian physicist, most noted for his work on beta decay, the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for the development of quantum theory. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938.
Born: September 29th, 1901
Died: November 28th, 1954
Categories: Italians, Nobel Prize winners, Physicists, 1950s deaths, Refugees, Agnostics
Quotes: 12 sourced quotes total (includes 5 about)
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Where are they?
There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.
I hope it won't take long.
If I could remember the names of all these particles, I'd be a botanist.
Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the Administration...
I cannot think of a single one, not even intelligence.
If Fermi had been born a few years earlier, one could well imagine him discovering Rutherford's atomic nucleus, and then developing Bohr's theory of the hydrogen atom. If this sounds like hyperbole, anything about Fermi is likely to sound like hyperbole.
There is no democracy in physics. We can't say that some second-rate guy has as much right to opinion as Fermi.
As astronomer Carl Sagan thought about what Fermi said [Fermi paradox], he began to be alarmed. ...This could only mean that advanced civilizations destroy themselves before they get that far, a viewpoint Sagan published in 1966.
He was simply unable to let things be foggy. Since they always are, this kept him pretty active.
Although the problem of transmuting chemical elements into each other is much older than a satisfactory definition of the very concept of chemical element, it is well known that the first and most important step towards its solution was made only nineteen years ago by the late Lord Rutherford, who started the method of the nuclear bombardments.
Such a weapon goes far beyond any military objective and enters the range of very great natural catastrophes. By its very nature it cannot be confined to a military objective but becomes a weapon which in practical effect is almost one of genocide. It is clear that the use of such a weapon cannot be justified on any ethical ground which gives a human being a certain individuality and dignity even if he happens to be a resident of an enemy country... The fact that no limits exist to the destructiveness of this weapon makes its very existence and the knowledge of its construction a danger to humanity as a whole. It is necessarily an evil thing considered in any light.