Enrico Fermi's Accomplishments

Enrico Fermi was born in Rome, Italy in 1901. Growing up, he showed a brilliant pre-disposition toward math and science. After graduating from the University of Pisa with a doctoral degree in physics, he went on to become a world renowned physicist who contributed to the development of the atomic bomb. He spent many years in Europe working with other accomplished scientists. In 1927, he was hired as the Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Rome. He spent eleven years at the university and moved to the United States immediately after receiving the Nobel Prize “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

In December of 1942, Fermi ascertained a breakthrough which produced the first nuclear chain reaction. After that, tremendous amounts of resources were dedicated to the creation of an atomic bomb. The project would come to include 120,000 Americans and $2 billion. Although the project included tens of thousands of Americans, only a select few were informed of the true purpose. In fact, the Vice-President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, did not know about the bomb development until he became the President in 1945. The Axis Powers, including Joseph Stalin, remained completely oblivious until Soviet spy, Klaus Fuchs, infiltrated the elite circle of American scientists. By 1945, the United States was ready to test the first bomb near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Once the bomb was detonated, a blinding flash visible for up to 200 miles away created a mushroom cloud that stretched over 40,000 feet. The bomb did damage to civilian homes up to 100 miles away, therefore, the scientific community created a cover story, saying an ammunition dump had exploded in the desert. Eventually, news reached President Truman that the test was successful. Little did he know, this would be the beginning of the nuclear

After World War II, he became a Professor at the Institute for Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago. He was also “appointed to the General Advisory Committee for the Atomic Energy Commission”. In October of 1949, the commission gathered to consider the creation of a hydrogen bomb, which can be up to 1000 times more powerful than an atomic bomb. Fermi was absolutely disgusted at the idea of the hydrogen bomb. He went as far as to co-author a condemnation of the committee’s intention. Fermi and Isidor Rabi issued a statement that said the hydrogen bomb “becomes a weapon which in practical effect is almost one of genocide…. It is necessarily an evil thing considered in any light.” However, President Harry S. Truman discounted the warnings issued by Fermi and others. When the creation of the hydrogen bomb was ordered, Fermi returned to New Mexico to help with the calculations. He sought to prove that making a “superbomb” wasn’t even possible. However, the United States was successful in testing the first hydrogen bomb in 1952. In the last years of his life, Fermi “turned his attention to high-energy physics, and led investigations into the origin of cosmic rays and theories on the fantastic energies present in cosmic ray particles”. By 1954, he had tragically been diagnosed with stomach cancer that would eventually take his life. Fermi died in his home on November