After he received the Nobel Prize in 1938 for his work with bombarding atoms with neutrons and for slowing neutrons down, Enrico Fermi accepted the position of Professor of Physics at Columbia University. It was then figured out that the reactions Fermi had been witnessing were nuclear fission. With World War II still continuing, this idea was the key to making an “atomic bomb” in theory. Fermi was sent to the University of Chicago where he was in charge of completing the first step. This was to create an “atomic pile,” which was the codename for neutronic reactor. This later came to be called a nuclear reactor. The bomb that was produced from Fermi’s work ended World War II and the reactor he built was the first of many nuclear reactors which are now an important modern power source.

*Picture from Encarta Encyclopedia

Enrico Fermi Inventor of the Neutronic Reactor. Accessed April 12, 2004: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfermi.htm

• This source was a detailed biography of Enrico Fermi. It included enough information about his work with atomic fission and the nuclear reactor to complete the above work.