Description:

Enrico Fermi Superb ALS

Autograph Letter Signed, "Enrico Fermi", in Italian, 2 pp. on a single leaf, on Istituto Di Fisica letterhead, Rome, 6.5" x 8.5". Fine condition.  

Fermi inquires about fees and travel expenses for visiting professors, as shown translated in full below:

"Dear Doctor,

I impose, once again, upon your kindness to ask you about the following items concerning which I have already spoken to you.

a) That is the net compensation, inclusive of travel expenses, etc., for Professor Michele Cantone of the Royal University of Naples, (grade 4), for only one session held in Rome?

b) What is the ongoing fee for a single ses­sion payable to Senator Professor Antonio Garbasso at the University of Florence?

c) What is the net compensation for a single session payable to the members of the Com­
mission who reside in Rome? I believe it is 25 lire minus the deduction for income tax. The usual rates of compensation are the same as those paid to the ministerial examining commission.

Please excuse my troubling you."

A rare letter from the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor. Called the "architect of the nuclear age", and the "architect of the atomic bomb", Fermi was one of very few physicists to excel in both theoretical physics and experimental physics. Fermi held several patents related to the use of nuclear power, and was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity by neutron bombardment and for the discovery of trans uranium elements. He made significant contributions to the development of statistical mechanics, quantum theory and nuclear and particle physics. In 1939, Fermi invented the nuclear reactor at Columbia University. The work moved to the University of Chicago when the Manhattan Project commenced. The Atomic Age began at 3:25 p.m. on Dec. 2, 1942 quietly, in secrecy, on a squash court under the west stands of old Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. Enrico Fermi and his colleagues engineered the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, a key step in the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb during World War II.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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