Google dedicates its Doodle to César Lattes; we tell you who he was

by times news cr

2024-07-12 15:51:07

As you may have noticed, this July 11th, Google He dedicated a Doodle al experimental physicist Brazilian Caesar LattesIf you don’t know who he was, we’ll tell you below.

This Thursday, as is to be expected in the commemoration of festivities, anniversaries and the lives of famous artists, pioneers and scientists, the Google logo used the representative image of César Lattes, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. For this reason, below we will tell you more about his life.

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Who was Cesar Lattes?

Cesare Mansueto Giulio Lattes, known simply as Cesar Lattes. He was born on July 11, 1924 and died on March 8, 2005.

She came from a Jewish family of Italian immigrants in Curitiba, in the state of Paraná, in southern Brazil.

From a young age, he showed a notable interest in science, which led him to study physics at the University of São Paulo (USP) where he graduated in mathematics and physics at the University of São Paulo in 1943.

Following his talents in the field of physics, he was part of a group of brilliant young Brazilian physicists who worked as European professors such as Gleb Wataghin and Giuseppe Occhialini, who became important scientists.

At the age of 23, he was one of the founders of the Brazilian Center for Physical Research (CBPF) in Rio de Janeiro.

Lattes then began working on the study of cosmic rays, high-energy particles from space that impact the Earth’s atmosphere. This area of ​​study would be fundamental to his future discoveries.

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Well, in 1947, César, together with his colleague Giuseppe Occhialini and the physicist Cecil Powell, discovered the pion (or pi meson), a composite subatomic particle formed by a quark and an antiquark, which revolutionized our understanding of nuclear forces, since it is the force that holds nucleons together in the atomic nucleus.

This discovery not only represented a landmark achievement in particle physics, but also elevated Lattes and his collaborators to the pinnacle of global science. This team did such important work that Cecil Powell was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1950. Although Lattes did not receive the award, his contribution was widely recognized and celebrated in the scientific community.

Lattes retired in 1986, the year in which he received the titles of doctor honoris causa and professor emeritus from Unicamp. After his retirement he continued to live in a house in the suburban area very close to the university campus. He died of a heart attack on March 8, 2005 in Campinas, São Paulo.

CSAS

2024-07-12 15:51:07

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