Fermi

Italian physicist. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Pisa. In 1926, he proposed a statistical theory of quantum mechanics called "Fermi statistics" based on the Pauli exclusion principle, and was appointed professor of theoretical physics at the University of Rome. He soon became interested in the new field of nuclear physics research, and in 1934 he developed Pauli's hypothesis and proposed a theory on "weak interactions" to explain the phenomenon of beta decay, in which a neutron emits an electron along with a neutrino when it changes into a proton, forming the basis of Hideki Yukawa's meson theory that explains nuclear forces. Inspired by M. and P. Curie's discovery of artificial radioactivity through alpha ray irradiation, he conducted experiments to create artificial radioactive elements by irradiating various elements with neutrons slowed down by paraffin and water. These researches earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938. After the award ceremony, he moved to the United States to avoid the oppression of the fascist government, and became a professor at Columbia University. During World War II, he participated in the atomic bomb project and succeeded in achieving criticality in a nuclear fission chain reaction of uranium using a graphite reactor (1942). He also worked on the construction of the atomic bomb at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. After the war, he worked as a professor at the Institute of Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago.

Source: Morikita Publishing "Chemical Dictionary (2nd Edition)" Information about the Chemical Dictionary 2nd Edition

イタリアの物理学者．ピサ大学で学位を取得．1926年パウリの排他原理にもとづく“フェルミ統計”とよばれる量子力学の統計理論を提出し，ローマ大学の理論物理学教授のポストを得た．やがて新分野である原子核物理学の研究に関心をもち，1934年パウリの仮説を発展させ，中性子が陽子にかわるとき，ニュートリノとともに電子を放出するというβ崩壊の現象を説明する“弱い相互作用”に関する理論を提起し，湯川秀樹の核力を説明する中間子理論の基礎をつくった．また，M. and P. Curie(キュリー)夫妻のα線照射による人工放射能の発見に触発され，パラフィンや水で減速させた中性子をさまざまな元素に照射し，人工放射性元素をつくる実験を行った．これらの研究により，1938年ノーベル物理学賞を受賞．授賞式後，ファシズム政権の圧迫を避けるためそのままアメリカに移り，コロンビア大学教授となる．第二次世界大戦中，原爆計画に参加し，黒鉛炉によるウランの核分裂連鎖反応の臨界に成功した(1942年)．また，ロスアラモス研究所で原爆の製造に携わった．戦後は，シカゴ大学原子核研究所教授として活躍した．

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