Editing Enrico Fermi (section)

=== Legacy ===
Fermi received numerous awards in recognition of his achievements, including the [[Matteucci Medal]] in 1926, the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1938, the [[Hughes Medal]] in 1942, the [[Franklin Medal]] in 1947, and the [[Rumford Prize]] in 1953. He was awarded the [[Medal for Merit]] in 1946 for his contribution to the Manhattan Project.{{sfn|Alison|1957|pp=135–136}} Fermi was elected member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1939 and a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1950|Foreign Member of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1950]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Enrico+Fermi&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=8 May 2023 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref><ref name="frs" /> The [[Basilica of Santa Croce]], [[Florence]], known as the ''Temple of Italian Glories'' for its many graves of artists, scientists and prominent figures in Italian history, has a plaque commemorating Fermi.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gotterdammerung.org/photo/travel/italy/florence/churches/basilica-di-santa-croce/060907-175358%20The%20Tomb%20of%20Enrico%20Fermi%20at%20Santa%20Croce.html |title=Enrico Fermi in Santa Croce, Florence |publisher=gotterdammerung.org |access-date=10 May 2015 }}</ref> In 1999, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named Fermi on its list of the top 100 persons of the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,26473,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010211124411/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,26473,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2001 |title=''Time'' 100 Persons of the Century |date=6 June 1999 |access-date=2 March 2013 }}</ref> Fermi was widely regarded as an unusual case of a 20th-century physicist who excelled both theoretically and experimentally. Chemist and novelist [[C. P. Snow]] wrote, "if Fermi had been born a few years earlier, one could well imagine him discovering [[Ernest Rutherford|Rutherford]]'s atomic nucleus, and then developing [[Bohr model|Bohr's theory]] of the hydrogen atom. If this sounds like hyperbole, anything about Fermi is likely to sound like hyperbole".{{sfn|Snow|1981|p=79}}

Fermi was known as an inspiring teacher and was noted for his attention to detail, simplicity, and careful preparation of his lectures.{{sfn|Ricci|2001|pp=297–302}} Later, his lecture notes were transcribed into books.{{sfn|Ricci|2001|p=286}} His papers and notebooks are today at the University of Chicago.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fermi.lib.uchicago.edu/fermicollection.htm |title=Enrico Fermi Collection |publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |access-date=22 January 2013 |archive-date=18 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318040831/http://fermi.lib.uchicago.edu/fermicollection.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Victor Weisskopf]] noted how Fermi "always managed to find the simplest and most direct approach, with the minimum of complication and sophistication."{{sfn|Salvini|2001|p=5}} He disliked complicated theories, and while he had great mathematical ability, he would never use it when the job could be done much more simply. He was famous for getting quick and accurate answers to problems that would stump other people. Later on, his method of getting approximate and quick answers through back-of-the-envelope calculations became informally known as the "[[Fermi method]]", and is widely taught.{{sfn|Von Baeyer|1993|pp=3–8}}

Fermi was fond of pointing out that when [[Alessandro Volta]] was working in his laboratory, Volta had no idea where the study of electricity would lead.{{sfn|Fermi|1954|p=242}} Fermi is generally remembered for his work on nuclear power and nuclear weapons, especially the creation of the first nuclear reactor, and the development of the first atomic and hydrogen bombs. His scientific work has stood the test of time. This includes his theory of beta decay, his work with non-linear systems, his discovery of the effects of slow neutrons, his study of pion-nucleon collisions, and his Fermi–Dirac statistics. His speculation that a pion was not a fundamental particle pointed the way towards the study of [[quark]]s and [[lepton]]s.{{sfn|Salvini|2001|p=17}}

{{Quote|text=As a person, Fermi seemed simplicity itself. He was extraordinarily vigorous and loved games and sport. On such occasions his ambitious nature became apparent. He played tennis with considerable ferocity and when climbing mountains acted rather as a guide. One might have called him a benevolent dictator. I remember once at the top of a mountain Fermi got up and said: "Well, it is two minutes to two, let's all leave at two o'clock"; and of course, everybody got up faithfully and obediently. This leadership and self-assurance gave Fermi the name of "The Pope" whose pronouncements were infallible in physics. He once said: "I can calculate anything in physics within a factor 2 on a few sheets; to get the numerical factor in front of the formula right may well take a physicist a year to calculate, but I am not interested in that." His leadership could go so far that it was a danger to the independence of the person working with him. I recollect once, at a party at his house when my wife cut the bread, Fermi came along and said he had a different philosophy on bread-cutting and took the knife out of my wife's hand and proceeded with the job because he was convinced that his own method was superior. But all this did not offend at all, but rather charmed everybody into liking Fermi. He had very few interests outside physics and when he once heard me play on Teller's piano he confessed that his interest in music was restricted to simple tunes.|author=[[Egon Bretscher]]<ref name="frs">{{Cite journal | last1 = Bretscher | first1 = E. | last2 = Cockcroft | first2 = J.D.| author-link2 = John Cockcroft | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1955.0006 | title = Enrico Fermi. 1901–1954 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 1 | pages = 69–78 | year = 1955 | jstor = 769243| doi-access = free }}</ref>}}