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The last man who knew everything : the life and times of Enrico Fermi, father of the nuclear age / David N. Schwartz.

By: Publisher: New York : Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc., 2017Copyright date: ©2017Edition: First editionDescription: xxiii, 453 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780465072927
  • 0465072925
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 530.092 B 23
LOC classification:
  • QC16.F46 S39 2017
Contents:
Prodigy -- Pisa -- Germany and Holland -- Quantum breakthroughs -- Of geckos and men -- Family life -- The Rome School -- Beta rays -- Goldfish -- Physics as soma -- The Nobel Prize -- The new world -- Splitting the atom -- Fermi meets the Navy -- Piles of graphite -- The move to Chicago -- Squash courts -- Xenon-135 -- On a mesa -- An unholy Trinity -- Return to Chicago -- In the public eye -- A patent fight -- Brilliant teacher, beloved mentor -- Travels abroad -- Home to die -- Fermi's legacy.
Summary: "In 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who knew everything--at least about physics. But he was also a complex figure who was a part of both the Italian Fascist Party and the Manhattan Project, and a less-than-ideal father and husband who nevertheless remained one of history's greatest mentors. Based on new archival material and exclusive interviews, The Last Man Who Knew Everything lays bare the enigmatic life of a colossus of twentieth century physics." -- Amazon.com.
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Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Books Books Leesburg Public Library Nonfiction Nonfiction 530.092 Sch Available 33099004174853
Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references (pages 375-436) and index.

Prodigy -- Pisa -- Germany and Holland -- Quantum breakthroughs -- Of geckos and men -- Family life -- The Rome School -- Beta rays -- Goldfish -- Physics as soma -- The Nobel Prize -- The new world -- Splitting the atom -- Fermi meets the Navy -- Piles of graphite -- The move to Chicago -- Squash courts -- Xenon-135 -- On a mesa -- An unholy Trinity -- Return to Chicago -- In the public eye -- A patent fight -- Brilliant teacher, beloved mentor -- Travels abroad -- Home to die -- Fermi's legacy.

"In 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who knew everything--at least about physics. But he was also a complex figure who was a part of both the Italian Fascist Party and the Manhattan Project, and a less-than-ideal father and husband who nevertheless remained one of history's greatest mentors. Based on new archival material and exclusive interviews, The Last Man Who Knew Everything lays bare the enigmatic life of a colossus of twentieth century physics." -- Amazon.com.

Baker & Taylor LEE

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