Enrico Fermi, Physicist

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Summary: A Scientist to Remember
Review: The book was filled with many pages of interesting info that I found informative and enjoyable to read as a literature teacher. It was composed with inciteful quotes that can influence the reader. Finally, I would advise anyone interested in reading about a great man like this one should go out and buy this book

Rating:
Summary: From one physisict to another
Review: This is an interesting biography for it is written by a friend with same interests and loyalty to each other. No jealosy, no envie but appreciation and loyalty how nice. This is the story of Fermi mostly about his intellectual and social life and not about his private life and that part is in fact covered very nicely by his wife in her beautiful book. Segre without any short cuts describe Fermi, his behaior, his mastery in physics with all important documents reproduced and day by day their successes and few dissappointments. There are certain scientific explanations about the experiments they conducted days in and days out and if you are not into Atomic physics those explanations are just words but even if you do not know what they are doing you still get the pleasure of visualising masters in action. descriptions are very vivid. Hard work is necessary but knowing what you are doing is more important and this book along with the biographies of other master Physisist shows the same. Prof Serge is exteremely good in writing biography, you do not get bored while reading the book. All the surroundings, social and political world conditions are clearly described, showing the conditions these people had to go through and yet was exteremely productive.

Rating:
Summary: The master described by the pupil, both Nobel winners
Review: This is the best researched biography of the great Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, the last universalist in physics, in what concerns science and education. For the private life of the great man and for the less formal aspects of his life, the best book is "Atoms in Family", by his wife, Laura Fermi. Both are remarkable books. The book by Segre, who himself won the Nobel prize for the first observation of the anti-proton, besides being very well written, has some features of his own. First, there is, in an appendix, a series of letters exchanged between Fermi and Persico, another distinguished physicist, of about the same age, which talk mainly of education:which book to use for thermodynamics (Planck), how to study, progresses in some researches, etc. Second, an interview with a friend of Fermi's father, the engineer Amidei, who had a great influence on the education of teenager Fermi, by lending him books he assumed would be important for his future. Among t! hese books is the Mecanique (mechanics) of Poisson, which remained impressed in Fermi's memory forever. The list of these books, with the dates when they were taken and given back, is there. Fermi's style, the simplicity that comes from deep knowledge, is exemplified in many occasions. Perhaps the best story is that of the malfunctioning of Compton's watch; or the first measurement of the power of the first nuclear explosion, made by Fermi by measurind the displacement caused by the shock wave on little scraps of paper released when the first light from the explosion arrived. I read this book at least ten times. I know I will read it again many times.