Carlo Rubbia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Senator for Life
Carlo Rubbia
OMRI OMCA
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Rubbia at the 2012 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
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| Born | 31 March 1934 Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
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| Alma mater | Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa |
| Known for | Discovery of W and Z bosons Antiproton Accumulator Energy amplifier ICARUS experiment |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Particle physics |
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| Member of the Senate of the Republic | |
| Life tenure 30 August 2013 |
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| Appointed by | Giorgio Napolitano |
Carlo Rubbia (born March 31, 1934) is an Italian particle physicist and inventor. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer. They were honored for their work that led to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN. These particles are super tiny building blocks of the universe.
Contents
Early Life and School
Rubbia was born in 1934 in Gorizia, a town in Italy near Slovenia. His family moved around because of World War II. His dad was an electrical engineer and wanted Carlo to follow in his footsteps. But Carlo really wanted to study physics.
As a kid, he loved to collect and experiment with old military radio equipment. He tried to get into a top physics school in Pisa but just missed the cut. So, he started studying engineering in Milan in 1953. Luckily, a spot opened up in Pisa, and he quickly switched. He earned his degree and doctorate in physics, studying cosmic rays. At Pisa, he also met his future wife, Marisa, who was also a physics student.
Amazing Discoveries and Career
Studying Particles in the US
After finishing school, Carlo Rubbia went to the United States for more research. He spent about a year and a half at Columbia University. There, he did experiments on tiny particles called muons. This was the start of his long journey studying weak interactions, which are one of the basic forces of nature. This work eventually led to his Nobel Prize.
Working at CERN
Rubbia returned to Europe and joined CERN in 1960. CERN is a huge science lab in Switzerland. He worked on experiments about how weak interactions work. CERN had a new machine called the Intersecting Storage Rings. This machine made beams of protons crash into each other. Rubbia and his team used it to study the weak force. They even saw a new type of particle called a charmed baryon. These experiments helped them learn how to find even stranger particles later on.
In 1976, Rubbia had a brilliant idea. He suggested changing CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) machine. He wanted it to crash protons and antiprotons together in the same ring. Antiprotons are like protons but with an opposite electrical charge. To make this work, a special machine called the Antiproton Accumulator was built. It used a new method called stochastic cooling, invented by Simon van der Meer.
The new collider started working in 1981. In 1983, a big team of over 100 scientists, led by Rubbia, found the W and Z bosons. These particles were a huge discovery! Scientists had thought they existed for a long time, but no one had seen them directly. The W and Z bosons carry the weak force. This force causes radioactive decay and helps power the Sun. These particles are almost 100 times heavier than a proton.
In 1984, Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer won the Nobel Prize. They were honored for their key roles in the project that found the W and Z particles.
To create these heavy particles, Rubbia and his colleagues, David Cline and Peter McIntyre, suggested a new type of particle accelerator. They proposed using beams of protons and antiprotons. These beams would spin in opposite directions and then smash into each other. This idea of colliding particles was not new. But by the late 1970s, existing colliders could not reach the high energies needed to find the W and Z particles.
Antiprotons are hard to get. They are usually made by hitting a target with a proton beam. Van der Meer's "stochastic cooling" method was key. It helped gather and focus the antiprotons into a strong beam. This allowed them to be sped up to very high energies without losing too many. Without this method, the discovery of the W and Z particles would not have been possible.
Leading at Harvard and CERN
In 1970, Rubbia became a physics professor at Harvard University in the United States. He spent one semester there each year for 18 years, while still working at CERN. In 1989, he became the Director-General of CERN. During his time as leader, in 1993, CERN made the World Wide Web protocol and code free for everyone to use. This was a huge step for the internet!
Deep Underground Research
Rubbia has also been involved in experiments deep underground at the Gran Sasso Laboratory in Italy. One experiment, called ICARUS, looks for signs that protons might decay. Scientists usually think matter is stable, but some theories suggest protons might slowly break down over billions of years. This experiment also aims to directly detect neutrinos from the Sun. Neutrinos are tiny particles with almost no mass.
Rubbia also came up with the idea of an energy amplifier. This is a new and safe way to create nuclear energy using particle accelerators. Scientists around the world are studying this idea. It could help get rid of dangerous waste from nuclear reactors. It could also produce energy from natural materials like thorium and depleted uranium. In 2013, he suggested building many small thorium power plants.
Other Important Roles
Rubbia has held many other important positions. He was a scientific advisor for CIEMAT in Spain. He also advised the European Union on global warming. From 1999 to 2005, he was the President of ENEA in Italy. There, he helped develop a new way to use solar power to create energy, called the Archimede Project. This project is now being developed for commercial use.
Personal Life
Carlo Rubbia and his wife, Marisa, have two children. Rubbia is also a person of faith. He is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which advises the Pope on scientific matters.
Awards and Honors
Carlo Rubbia has received many awards for his work:
- In December 1984, he was given the title of Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI in Italy.
- On August 30, 2013, he was made a Senator for Life in the Senate of Italy by President Giorgio Napolitano. This is a special honor for important Italians.
- On January 8, 2016, he received the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award from China.
- An Asteroid (8398 Rubbia) is named after him.
- He became a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 1984.
- In 1984, he also received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
See also
In Spanish: Carlo Rubbia para niños
