Honouring Edoardo Amaldi in His Hometown

A vacuum capacitor being installed at the 12 GeV proton synchrotron at the Japanese KEK Laboratory to widen the accelerating radiofrequency range. Together with other modifications, this resulted in successful accel eration of deuterons to 11.2 GeV. To supply deuteron beams, several modifications had to be made in each PS section, the largest being for the radiofrequency systems. As accel eration in the linac takes place in every other r.f. cycle, the resulting deuteron velocity is just half that of the protons. Consequently the r.f fre quency range in the booster and main ring had to be increased by 33 and 50 per cent respectively, achieved by attaching a vacuum ca pacitor to each accelerating gap and increasing the ferrite bias current for each cavity. To accommodate the increased bias current, power sup plies were upgraded. The successful deuteron test shows that the KEK PS can accelerate ions of charge-to-mass ratio 1/2, expand ing experimental possibilities. Cur rently kaon decay experiments re ceive highest PS priority. For the future of the machine, several ideas have been aired, including a heavy ion collider of energies up to 7 GeV/ nucleon, and a phi-factory. Honouring Edoardo Amaldi in his hometown As reported briefly last month, on and the unveiling of a bronze bust. molecular and atomic physics, 25 January Italian physicists gath The meeting was attended by many through fundamental work in Enrico ered in Piacenza, accepting an invita Italian scientists and representatives Fermi's group on nuclear physics us tion from the local authorities to hon of local and national authorities, to ing neutron probes, subsequent nu our the memory of distinguished gether with high school students and clear studies with electrostatic accel physicist and CERN founding father members of the local community. erators, cosmic ray research, and Edoardo Amaldi who died on 5 De Nicola Cabibbo, giving a keynote experiments hunting for magnetic cember 1989. Attended by speech 'Edoardo Amaldi, scientist monopoles, to his activity in later Ugo Amaldi and other members of and European citizen', retraced the years in developing gravitational- the family, the event ended in many-faceted aspects of Edoardo wave antennas. Carpaneto, the village where Amaldi's life, stressing the variety These contributions to physics Edoardo Amaldi was born in 1908, and far-reaching results of his re would be sufficient to ensure with the dedication of the local school search, from early investigations on Edoardo Amaldi a place in physics CERN Courier, May 1992 15 At the first CERN Council session in Paris, May 1952. Left to right - Pierre Auger, Edoardo Amaldi and Lew Kowarski. At the meeting, Amaldi was named Secretary-General of the provisional CERN organization. in the framework of the Pugwash Conferences (after the Russell-Ein stein Manifesto) and later with his own and W.K.H. Panofsky's initiative to involve National Academies in studying the technical aspects of practical nuclear disarmament, in particular thejjisposal of nuclear war heads. This programme is continuing with annual meetings to be held in various countries under the name 'Amaldi Conferences'. Edoardo Amaldi felt it was his duty as a scientist to help political leaders and opinion makers understand the implications of highly advanced tech nologies, with their promise of eco nomic and social benefits on one hand, but with the dangers of their misuse on the other, demanding history, but contemporary science Gilberto Bernardini, the establish strict but nevertheless rational and owes him a great deal for his seminal ment of the Istituto Nazionale di dispassionate control. and catalyst role in foreseeing the Fisica Nucleare, INFN, for national Piero Angela complemented the needs of advanced research and pro research in nuclear and subnuclear presentation with observations of moting and realizing the necessary physics. more personal nature on the style scientific infrastructure, both at a na The ceremony in Piacenza contin and the human character of Amaldi, tional and international level. ued with the presentation of the book his strong feelings and his attention In Italy he accepted the heavy bur 'Edoardo Amaldi, scienziato e to the problems of humanity. den of keeping physics research cittadino d'Europa' (Leonardo, Rome) The event, in a spirit Edoardo alive when politics and the Second consisting of a biography by Amaldi himself would have appreci World War emptied the Italian univer Carlo Rubbia for the Biographical ated, was also an occasion for the sities, and the physics renaissance of Memoirs of the UK Royal Society presentation of a concrete pro the early 1930s came to a sudden (the English version has appeared as gramme of activities, planned by a halt. At the end of the War he re CERN Report 91-09), and the reprint new institution bearing his name. sisted the attraction of the big US of a comprehensive interview by Fernando Amman, chairman of its Laboratories, choosing instead to leading Italian science writer Scientific Committee, described the crusade for the rebuilding of physics Piero Angela, together with an intro promotion of Piacenza agriculture research in Italy, and in Europe in a duction by Giorgio Salvini. and economy, with particular empha spirit of supranational cooperation. Presenting the book, Salvini under sis on cooperation with East Euro His efforts found response in eager lined the spirit which characterized all pean countries; international meet European scientists and several Amaldi's activities and which remains ings on themes of science and years of vigorous and enthusiastic an important guideline for all scien technology and their economic and work led to the institution of CERN, tists - a precise sense of moral duty environmental impact; the founding and he acted as Secretary-General to enforce truth in all contexts. In par of the 'Amaldi Lectures' by leading of the provisional Organization from ticular Salvini, quoting from the book, international scientists, and the col 1952-4. He also played a key role in stressed Edoardo Amaldi's political lection and publication of all Amaldi's developing European cooperation for activity in pursuit of strengthening historical papers. space research, which went on to be Italian science and technology, and come the European Space Agency. his awareness and contributions to From Alessandro Pascolini In Italy he promoted, with nuclear and global disarmament, first 16 CERN Courier, May 1992 .

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