A Brilliant Darkness

The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Ettore Majorana, the Troubled Genius of the Nuclear Age

By: Joao Magueijo

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Hardcover | 24 November 2009 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
304 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
2.6 x 16.1 x 23.7

Hardcover

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On the night of March 26, 1938, nuclear physicist Ettore Majorana boarded a ship, cash and passport in hand. He was never seen again. In A Brilliant Darkness, theoretical physicist Joao Magueijo tells the story of Majorana and his research group, "the Via Panisperna Boys," who discovered atomic fission in 1934. As Majorana, the most brilliant of the group, began to realize the implications of what they had found, he became increasingly unstable. Did he commit suicide that night in Palermo? Was he kidnapped? Did he stage his own death?

A Brilliant Darkness chronicles Majorana's invaluable contributions to science -- including his major discovery, the Majorana neutrino -- while revealing the truth behind his fascinating and tragic life.

Industry Reviews

Publishers Weekly "Part mystery, part biography and part nuclear physics primer... Magueijo's examination of Majorana...reveals a troubled, confounding man whose disappearance has inspired as many conspiracy theories as the Roswell incident." Library Journal "[Magueijo] could have easily fallen into the jargon of his profession to describe the work of a fellow scientist, but he does not. His clear explanation of Majorana's insight into nuclear physics, often accompanied with drawings and illustrations, will appeal to a wide audience." SEEDMagazine.com "A Brilliant Darkness excavates Majorana's troubled life, explaining his contributions to physics and uncovering new clues about his peculiar disappearance more than 70 years ago." Booklist (starred review) "Magueijo explains [Majorana's] scientific theories in mercifully simple terms. But what simple terms can illuminate a tortured and unstable personality, vulnerable to bouts of depression and prone to antisocial reclusiveness? The complexities of that personality resist assimilation into any of the standard explanations -- suicide, kidnapping, flight, monastic retreat -- for Majorana's disappearance. But astounded readers will thank Magueijo for his daring venture into the science and the psyche of a perplexing figure."

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Science Science in General History of Science Physics Nuclear Physics Biographies & True Stories Biographies Science, Technology & Medicine Biographies Fiction Science Fiction Popular Science

Prologue: A Moment of Fatigue or Moral Discomfort	p. vii
Life: The Grand Inquisitor
The Attic of 251 Via Etnea	p. 3
Nuclear Crisis	p. 18
Frankenstein's Youth	p. 30
Poltergeist Exposed	p. 43
Bread and Sperm	p. 50
Strong Interactions	p. 65
Meet Ettore Majorana	p. 75
Boys Will Be Boys	p. 80
Neutrinos from Transylvania	p. 92
Ode to the Vanquished	p. 101
Creation and Annihilation	p. 108
The Serpent's Egg	p. 118
His Unfinished Symphony	p. 127
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle	p. 135
Stellar Collapse	p. 142
Artichokes	p. 148
Meanwhile, at Via Panisperna	p. 152
The Crepuscule of Via Panisperna	p. 164
Ettore's Neutrino	p. 171
The Quiet Before the Storm	p. 182
The Search Party	p. 191
Afterlife: The Dark Matter
Pagliacci	p. 205
A Pirandellian Intermezzo	p. 211
Don't Cry for Him, Argentina	p. 215
They Thought the Sun Was Sick	p. 223
The Sign of the Beast	p. 231
Ettore MajoranaÖ	p. 242
A Vote of Silence	p. 248
Epilogue: Mediterranean Whales	p. 253
Acknowledgments	p. 267
References	p. 269
Credits	p. 271
Index	p. 273
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

A Brilliant Darkness

The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Ettore Majorana, the Troubled Genius of the Nuclear Age

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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