ID 1129640
Lot 22 | Patent for the method of producing nuclear reactions
Estimate value
$ 10 000 – 15 000
Very rare original patent specification for the production of artificial radioactivity through slow neutron bombardment. This is the first of the documents listed under the Printing and the Mind of Man entry for the Atom Bomb (PMM 422). Before the outbreak of World War Two, information about nuclear reactions and radioactivity was openly published internationally. Its application to weaponry was not part of the 1930s discourse. On the contrary, "the only practical use suggested for it was "implied in the Fermi patent for producing radioactive isotopes, which has been a continued blessing to medical and physiological research." However, Fermi's process "also isolated as by-products two new elements, heavier than uranium, which by analogy were called 'neptunium' and 'plutonium.' The latter was later found to be fissionable” (PMM).
The patent was submitted on October 25, 1935, based on discoveries made in Italy the year before. The patent was accepted on April 26, 1937, and assigned to G.M. Giannini & Co on behalf of Fermi and his colleagues. A U.S. patent was also applied for at the same time in the United States. Fermi’s work led directly to the 1938 experiments of Hahn and Strassman in Berlin, which in turn led Lise Meitner, who had fled to Copenhagen, to realize that the phenomena they observed were the result of nuclear fission (PMM 422b). Fermi's work, culminating with the present patent, "made him the perhaps the world's leading expert on the subject during the thirties" (Pais). See lots 36, 37, and 38 for Meitner and Frisch's works based on Fermi's discoveries. PMM 422a.
Single folio sheet (280 x 190mm). Printed recto and verso. Inkstamp: "27.Mai 1937."
Artist: | Enrico Fermi (1901 - 1954) |
---|
Artist: | Enrico Fermi (1901 - 1954) |
---|
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 20 Rockefeller Plaza 10020 New York USA | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preview |
| ||||||||||||||
Phone | +1 212 636 2000 | ||||||||||||||
Fax | +1 212 636 4930 | ||||||||||||||
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase | ||||||||||||||
Shipping |
Postal service Courier service pickup by yourself | ||||||||||||||
Payment methods |
Wire Transfer | ||||||||||||||
Business hours | Business hours
|
More from Creator
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.