Enrico Fermi’s Discovery of Neutron-Induced Artificial Radioactivity:The Influence of His Theory of Beta Decay

Guerra, Francesco; Robotti, Nadia

doi:10.1007/s00016-008-0415-1

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…of their energy. 82 These results were summarized and discussed in detail in a long paper published in March 1933. 83 There, Rossi showed the different configurations he had used for his analysis, and which had led, by way of direct evidence, to his remarkable conclusion: a soft secondary radiation was produced during the interaction of cosmic rays with matter (see Fig.…”

Section: International Conferences and Early Collaborations On Cosmic...mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…85 At the same time, the parody provides clear evidence for the bonds that existed in a community characterised by a constructive and cooperative attitude. This community had a sense of humour about itself, and was even capable of criticizing its most beloved deities 82 For a more detailed discussion on Rossi's remarkable studies carried out during the period 1930-1932 see [32] (note 20).…”

Section: International Conferences and Early Collaborations On Cosmic...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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International scientific cooperation during the 1930s. Bruno Rossi and the development of the status of cosmic rays into a branch of physics

Bonolis¹

2013

Preprint

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During the 1920s and 1930s, Italian physicists established strong relationships with scientists from other European countries and the United States. The career of Bruno Rossi, a leading personality in the study of cosmic rays and an Italian pioneer of this field of research, provides a prominent example of this kind of international cooperation. Physics underwent major changes during these turbulent years, and the traditional internationalism of physics assumed a more institutionalised character. Against this backdrop, Rossi's early work was crucial in transforming the study of cosmic rays into a branch of modern physics. His friendly relationships with eminent scientists -notably Enrico Fermi, Walther Bothe, Werner Heisenberg, Hans Bethe, and Homi Bhabha-were instrumental both for the exchange of knowledge about experimental practises and theoretical discussions, and for attracting the attention of physicists such as Arthur Compton, Louis Leprince-Ringuet, Pierre Auger and Patrick Blackett to the problem of cosmic rays. Relying on material from different archives in Europe and United States, this case study aims to provide a glimpse of the intersection between national and international dimensions during the 1930s, at a time when the study of cosmic rays was still very much in its infancy, strongly interlaced with nuclear physics, and full of uncertain, contradictory, and puzzling results. Nevertheless, as a source of high-energy particles it became a proving ground for testing the validity of the laws of quantum electrodynamics, and made a fundamental contribution to the origins of particle physics.

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Section: International Conferences and Early Collaborations On Cosmic...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: International Conferences and Early Collaborations On Cosmic...mentioning

confidence: 99%

International scientific cooperation during the 1930s. Bruno Rossi and the development of the status of cosmic rays into a branch of physics

Bonolis¹

2013

Preprint

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“…Finally, it seems that we should assign to it spin ½ so that we have conservation of spin in  radioactivities and, more generally, in any transformation of neutrons into protons (or vice versa) with absorption and emission of electrons and neutrinos. 64 Two of us have recently discussed Fermi's theory of beta decay, 65 Fermi [ figure 9] has made a beautiful theory of β-decay emission, introducing the neutrino, which so simply reproduces the empirical facts that I believe in it strongly.…”

Section: The Seventh Solvay Conferencementioning

confidence: 99%

The Discovery of Artificial Radioactivity

Guerra¹,

Leone

Robotti

2012

Phys. Perspect.

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We reconstruct Frédéric Joliot and Irène Curie's discovery of artificial radioactivity in January 1934 based in part on documents preserved in the Joliot-Curie Archives in Paris, France. We argue that their discovery followed from the convergence of two parallel lines of research, on the neutron and on the positron, that were focused on a well-defined experimental problem, the nuclear transmutation of aluminum and other light elements. We suggest that a key role was played by a suggestion that Francis Perrin made at the seventh Solvay Conference at the end of October 1933, that the alpha-particle bombardment of aluminum produces an intermediate unstable isotope of phosphorus, which then decays by positron emission. We also suggest that a further idea that Perrin published in December 1933, and the pioneering theory of beta decay that Enrico Fermi also first published in December 1933, established a new theoretical framework that stimulated Joliot to resume the researches that he and Curie had interrupted after the Solvay Conference, now for the first time using a GeigerMüller counter to detect the positrons emitted when he bombarded aluminum with polonium alpha particles. Matteo Leone is contract researcher in the Department of Physics of the University of Genoa; his main fields of research are the history of spectroscopy, atomic physics, nuclear physics, and scientific instruments. Nadia Robotti is Professor of History of Physics in the Department of Physics of the University of Genoa; her main fields of research are the history of atomic physics, quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, and scientific instruments. 3 du Radium; Geiger-Müller counter; beta decay; artificial radioactivity; history of nuclear physics. IntroductionJean Perrin communicated Irène Curie and Frédéric Joliot's report on their discovery of artificial radioactivity to the Paris Academie des Sciences on January 15, 1934, 1 which gained worldwide attention when it was reported in the February 10 issue of Nature. 2 Science News emphasized that, "Never before [had] radioactivity been created by an external cause," 3 and Ernest Rutherford declared:[It] is remarkable that the life of the unstable atom produced is as long as it is. We do not know whether the atoms so far made artificially radioactive are typical or whether other unstable atoms which may be produced will have a longer or shorter life. The discovery of the Joliots shows how little we really know about radioactivity. 4That became clear in March 1934 when Enrico Fermi in Rome demonstrated that artificial radioactivity was also produced when neutrons bombard elements of high atomic number. 5While Joliot and Curie's discovery of artificial radioactivity has been discussed earlier by historians and physicists, most do not go into detail regarding its timing, 6 or do not offer an explanation for its timing. 7 Joliot first observed artificial radioactivity on the afternoon of January 11, 1934, 8 but in retrospect it seems that it could have been discovered soon after the seventh Solvay Conf...

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“…The physics of these particles was of fundamental importance for explaining the mechanism of nuclear radioactivity which, in the 1930s, had attracted the attention of the most prestigious international research groups [2][3]. In this context, Fermi had been one of the most active and was already known as one of the leading experts in the study of atomic nucleus and artificial radioactivity [4]. With the 1933 conference Fermi had the opportunity to know the state of art of nuclear physics, which, in the same year, allowed him to formulate the first beta decay theory [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fermi’s theory of beta decay: a first attempt at electroweak unification

Nanni¹

2019

astp

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The purpose of this study, mainly historical and pedagogical, is to investigate the physical-mathematical similitudes of the spectroscopic and beta decay Fermi theories. Both theories were formulated using quantum perturbative theory that allowed obtaining equations whose algebraic structure and physical interpretation suggests that the two phenomena occur according to the same mechanism. Fermi, therefore, could have guessed well in advance of the times that the two theories could be unified into a single physical-mathematical model that led to different results depending on the considered energy. The electroweak unification found its full realization only in the 1960s within the Standard Model that, however, is mainly based on a mathematical approach. Retracing the reasoning made by Fermi facilitates the understanding of the physical foundations that underlie the unification of the electromagnetic and weak forces.

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Enrico Fermi’s Discovery of Neutron-Induced Artificial Radioactivity:The Influence of His Theory of Beta Decay

Cited by 10 publications

References 23 publications

International scientific cooperation during the 1930s. Bruno Rossi and the development of the status of cosmic rays into a branch of physics

International scientific cooperation during the 1930s. Bruno Rossi and the development of the status of cosmic rays into a branch of physics

The Discovery of Artificial Radioactivity

Fermi’s theory of beta decay: a first attempt at electroweak unification

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