The Strange Case of Ettore Majorana:
There are so many people in History that had a key role in what we as a people have discovered, and where we are at currently. Whether it’s a nod to the arts, science, philosophy…the list is pretty amazing even beyond what we all learned in School, or more than likely were spoon fed in school….Everybody knows the main players who contributed to history in one form or another, but what about some of the lesser well known scholars in our past? And let’s add, what about lesser well-known people who left a strange road bump in the timeline, beyond what they were famous for? That’s when Strange Uncles steps in and tries to unravel said Strange goings on. It’s one thing to be known as being a genius in whatever form, its quite another to have an Urban legend of sorts attached to to you as well. So, ladies and germs, lets go down the Rabbit hole and discuss the strange and odd occurrences of an Italian genius, who left us wondering…. WTF happened?
Open the Gates…….
This is a direct quote from one” Enrico Fermi “, in regards to this Italian born Born enigma that we will talk about: “There are several categories of Scientists in the world; those of second or third rank that do their best but don’t get very far. Then there is the first rank, those who make important discoveries, fundamental scientific progress. But there are the geniuses, like Galileo and Newton. He was one of these.”
Born in Catania Sicily in 1906, he seemed one step ahead from the others around him. As luck would have it, there were other members of his family that seemed gifted as well. He had an uncle by the name of Quirino who a well-known Physicist was, but never reached the fame of his nephew. He was known as a math guru at a very young age, and actually joined Enrico Fermi’s team (see quote above), at a very young age, and in 1923, began studying Engineering. He soon realized that Engineering wasn’t quite his niche, so he switched to Physics, and from there, would plant his foot firmly into being one of the most well-known Theoretical Physicist’s in our lifetime. In 1928, he published his first paper in regard to Atomic Spectroscopy, which added to the groundwork that was previously done by Fermi. Oh, by the way, I guess we should give a quick definition of exactly what Atomic Spectroscopy was and why the fuck it matters to us.
“Atomic Spectroscopy is the determination of elemental composition by its electromagnetic or mass spectrum”. In layman terms, its how much Electromagnetic radiation stuff is sucked into and spit out by an atom. This kind of research is a piece of the larger pie in studying Nuclear energy and how it works, which as much as we have learned already, we are still unraveling the mysteries of the whole idea of Nuclear theory.
His work continued along the same same vein, as he released and published papers on “Autoionization in Atomic Spectra”, as well as papers on subjects such as Geophysics, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and relativity. Suffice to say this man was a fucking genius in every way. In 1933 he left Rome and traveling on a grant from the national Research Council, he traveled to Leipzig, Germany, where he met…wait for it…the infamous “Werner Heisenberg, who was also a theoretical physicist, and was most famous for pioneering the theory of “Quantum Mechanics”….oh, and he was a fucking Nazi…so there’s that. The Nazi party had already came into power in Germany in this timeline, and after studying with Werner Heisenberg on the theory of a Nucleus, he than traveled to Copenhagen where he worked with other Scientists such as Niels Bohr, who also worked on the idea of Quantum Mechanics and Atomic Structure. In fall of that same year he returned to Rome in shitty health and mental exhaustion, and turned into somewhat of a recluse where he was rarely seen, and pretty much tuned out everyone including his Familia.
For almost four years, he stayed reclusive, and didn’t publish many papers, but managed somehow to become a full-fledged professor at the University of Naples, without even having to take a test. One of his last papers was based on Electrons and positrons, and some of his study on this was put into practice in 2012, and actually has helped us get to where we are today with Quantum Computing. Just to wrap up this man’s work in Nuclear theory as a whole, he was directly involved in Theories that work to this day and was a key contributor to everything from discovering Gamma Rays, to working with Neutrino masses. I personally am blown away of what he accomplished, and who he worked with in the short time that he was alive…or? This is where the Rabbit hole starts…. Standby.
“I made a decision that has become unavoidable. There isn’t bit of selfishness in it, but I realize what trouble my sudden disappearance will cause you and the students. For this as well, I beg your forgiveness, but especially for betraying the trust, the sincere friendship and the sympathy you gave me over the past month’s. I ask you to remember me to all those I learned and appreciate in your institute, especially Scuiti: I will keep a fond memory of them all at least until 11pm tonight, possibly later too.”
That is the last thing written by acclaimed Theoretical Physicist Ettore Majorana, who, is the man we have been discussing. On March 25th 1938, he sent the above letter to “Antonio Carrelli, who was the director of the Naples Physics institute, he withdrew all of his money from his Bank account, and boarded a ship that was heading from Naples to Palermo, where it is said he was visiting a longtime friend, Emilio Segre. He boarded the Boat in Palermo to return to Naples but would never set foot in Naples. He disappeared without a trace before the ship reached the shores. Investigations were done, looking for his body or any trace of him, but none was found. Not to despite the fact that Emilio, the friend he supposedly traveled to Palermo to see, was proven to be in CA at the time. Ok, so that’s some weird actions to play out by someone who was 32 years young, and at that age, had a lifetime of achievements under his belt that most of us could only dream of. The letter itself is odd. It doesn’t just read like a “peace I’m out” type of thing, but more like a “no one will ever see me again…ever”. Add to the fact of him withdrawing all of his money, like he was just going to Disappear in history, never to be seen again. Or was he seen again? Theories on his disappearance are sorted. They range from suicide, or escaping to Argentina, to theories of him being murdered, or just simply becoming a beggar, to simplify his life. His family shares the belief that he simply “disappeared”, because he foresaw the research of Atomic energy, leading to Atomic weapons, and he couldn’t bear to be a part of that. Suicide is somewhat plausible, but not according to his Family. He was a devout Catholic, and his family stated there was no way he would have ended his life. There was a supposed letter that was left in a hotel in Palermo that was addressed to his family. It read,
“I have only one wish: Do not wear black. If you must conform to custom just wear some emblem of mourning, but not for more than three days. After that, remember me in your hearts, if you can, and please forgive me”.
Resemblance?
