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Enrico Fermi

Did you know: Fermi equation conundrum

This photograph of Enrico Fermi, Argonne’s founding director, is a famous one, and appears on the U.S. postage stamp in his honor. Many physicists have pointed out that there’s an error in the equation he has written on the blackboard, which appears incompletely on the stamp. The equation denotes the fine structure constant and should read:

.

However, Fermi has written it as

.

Physicists have debated this image for many years. Some think the equation is a mistake. Others, remembering his famous sense of humor, point to the twinkle in his eyes and believe he was just having a bit of fun. Either interpretation shows the humanity of this outstanding scientist, one of the world’s greatest physicists.

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