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Fermi, Enrico

Fermi, Enrico

Published: September 10, 2008, 2:11 pm
Updated: September 10, 2008, 2:11 pm
Lead Author: Cutler Cleveland
Topics: Environmental Chemistry Energy People People
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This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor: Tom Lawrence
Enrico Fermi. Enrico Fermi.

Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), an Italian-American physicist who played a key role in the development of the first atomic bomb. He was one of the leaders of the team of physicists on the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government's program to develop the atomic bomb. In 1926, Fermi discovered the statistical laws, now called Fermi-Dirac statistics, that govern the particles subject to the Pauli exclusion principle; such particles are called 'fermions' in Fermi's honor. Throughout his career, Fermi developed the mathematical statistics required to clarify a large class of subatomic phenomena, discovered neutron-induced radioactivity, and directed the first controlled chain reaction involving nuclear fission. This demonstration of nuclear fission took place in Chicago on December 2, 1942 in a volleyball field situated beneath the University of Chicago's sports stadium. Fermi was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize for Physics.

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Citation

Cutler Cleveland (Lead Author);Tom Lawrence (Topic Editor) "Fermi, Enrico". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth September 10, 2008; Last revised Date September 10, 2008; Retrieved February 9, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Fermi%2C_Enrico>

The Author

Cutler Cleveland Editor-in-Chief The Encyclopedia of Earth Cutler J. Cleveland is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. Dr. Cleveland is currently a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Boston University, with joint appointments in the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer Range Future. He also is a Senior Fellow at the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington D.C. Dr. Cleveland is als ... (Full Bio)

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