Article ID: CBB480792260

Enrico Fermi’s Discovery of Neutron-Induced Artificial Radioactivity: A Case of “Emanation” from “Divine Providence” (2020)

unapi

We reconstruct Enrico Fermi’s remarkable discovery of neutron-induced radioactivity in March 1934 with a focus on the experimental apparatus he used, such as the original neutron sources preserved in Italy and abroad. Special attention is paid to the role of the Radium Office of the Institute of Public Health in Rome in providing to Fermi the “radium emanation” (Radon-222) used to make his radon-beryllium neutron sources. This particular angle of investigation allows us to make a full reconstruction of what Fermi actually realized in his laboratory, to gain a better insight into his methodological choices, and, ultimately, to understand how special circumstances conspired to make the discovery of neutron-induced radioactivity possible.

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Authors & Contributors
Guerra, Francisco
Robotti, Nadia
Turchetti, Simone
Acocella, Giovanni
Carbonari, Luca
De Gregorio, Alberto
Journals
Physics in Perspective
Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences
Physis: Rivista Internazionale di Storia della Scienza
European Physical Journal H
化学史研究 [Kagakushi kenkyū; Journal of the Japanese Society for the History of Chemistry]
Science and Education
Publishers
Basic Books
Columbia University Press
Guaraldi
W. W. Norton & Co.
Concepts
Physics
Radioactivity
Atomic, nuclear, and particle physics
Discovery in science
Patents
Laboratory techniques and procedures
People
Fermi, Enrico
Becquerel, Henri
Joliot-Curie, Frédéric
Joliot-Curie, Irène
Curie, Marie Sklodowska
Curie, Pierre
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century
19th century
Places
Italy
Paris (France)
Rome (Italy)
United States
Vienna (Austria)
France
Institutions
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
Hanford Nuclear Site (Washington)
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