Enrico Fermi - Italian Physicist
(1901-1954)
1934-1935
Fermi and his colleagues in Rome undertake a systematic study of neutron induced nuclear reactions of every element. One purpose is to produce new nuclides. In May 1934, they bombard uranium for the first time. On October 22, 1934 they discover that paraffin wax slows the neutrons and greatly increases the activity. During this time, Fermi and his team become the first humans to cause nuclear fission, but they do not recognize it. Part of their standard experimental procedure includes covering their uranium samples with a thin sheet of aluminum foil to filter out unwanted alpha particles. Unbeknownst to them, the aluminum also stops the fission products from reaching their detectors. It would not be until the beginning of 1939 that nuclear fission would finally be recognized. Writer W.L. Laurence has called this delay the "Great Five Year Miracle that Saved the World"

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Using reactions of lighter elements, Fermi hypothesized that the following sequence should take place when uranium was bombarded by neutrons.

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