Followrdash;for the first timeedash;Nobel laureate and legendary teacher Enrico Fermiwsquo;s lost course on geophysics.
Nobel Prizegdash;winning physicist Enrico Fermi (1901gdash;54) is known for his work on experimental particle physics, quantum theory, and statistical mechanics; his contributions to the Manhattan Project; and for his particular ability to condense complicated problems into approximations for understanding and testing theory in a variety of scientific disciplines.
Unearthing Fermiosquo;s Geophysics opens a window onto two underrepresented facets of this extraordinary thinker: Fermiesquo;s contributions as a teacher and to the field of geophysics. Drawing on Fermissquo;s handwritten calculations and notes, many of which are reproduced here in photographic facsimile, physicists Gino Segrè and John Stack have reconstructed a coursebook of Ferminsquo;s insights into the physics of a range of geological and atmospheric phenomena. From gravity on Earth to thermodynamics in the atmosphere, the physics of raindrops, the Coriolis effect in hurricanes, tidal physics, earthquakes, and seismic waves, Earthmsquo;s magnetism, atmospheric electricity, and much more, Unearthing Fermiesquo;s Geophysics reveals the hidden workings of the world above, around, and below us>dash;and of the mind of a great scientist who was able to bring those physical workings to light.