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arXiv · 0708.2855

Ettore Majorana's Scientific (and Human) Personality

Erasmo Recami
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Abstract

This article, in English, represents part of the invited talk delivered by the author at the "Internat.Conf.Majorana Legacy and Phys. XXI century" held at Dep. of Phys.,University of Catania, Italy, in Oct.2006: Conference organized for celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth (in Catania) of the Italian theoretical physicist Ettore Majorana; probably the brightest Italian theoretician of the XX century (Enrico Fermi regarded him as the brightest in the world of his time), even if to some people Majorana is still known chiefly for his mysterious disappearance, in 1938, when he was 31. In this writing we outline the significance of his main publications, as well as his life: The biographical data being based on letters, documents, testimonies discovered or collected by the author during almost 30 years, and contained in the book by E.Recami, "Il Caso Majorana: Epistolario, Testimonianze, Documenti" (initially published, in 1987 and 1991, by Mondadori, Milan, and presenly published, in 2002, by Di Renzo Editore, Rome: http://www.direnzo.it). At last, some information and comments are added with regard to the scientific manuscripts left unpublished by Majorana. ----- Ettore Majorana: Un cenno alle sue Opere (e Vita). Il secondo articolo rappresenta la versione italiana di parte del seminario su invito tenuto dall'autore alla "Internat.Conf.Majorana's Legacy and Phys. of XXI Century" che ha avuto luogo nell'ottobre 2006 presso il Dip. di Fis. della Univ. di Catania: Conferenza organizzata per celebrare il centenario della nascita (a Catania) del fisico teorico Ettore Majorana; probabilmente il piu` geniale teorico italiano del XX secolo (Enrico Fermi lo considero` il piu` brillante del suo tempo nel mondo), anche se a qualcuno Majorana e` ancora noto soprattutto per la sua misteriosa scomparsa, avvenuta nel 1938, quando aveva 31 anni. In questo scritto descriviamo in sintesi tanto il significato delle sue piu` importanti pubblicazioni, quanto la sua vita: i dati biografici essendo basati su lettere, documenti, testimonianze scoperti o raccolti dall'autore durante quasi 30 anni, e contenuti nel libro di E.Recami: "Il Caso Majorana: Epistolario, Testimonianze, Documenti" (pubblicato inizialmente da Mondadori, Milano, nel 1987 e 1991, e al presente pubblicato, nel 2002, da Di Renzo Editore, Roma: http://www.direnzo.it). Infine, si aggiungono informazioni e commenti circa i manoscritti scientifici lasciti inediti dal Majorana.

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Erasmo Recami. 2007-08-21. Ettore Majorana's Scientific (and Human) Personality. https://arxiv.org/abs/0708.2855

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