Aldo Pontremoli – Wikipedia

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Aldo Pontremoli (left) with the Swedish meteorologist Finn Malmgren (1928)
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Aldo Pontremoli (Milan, January 19, 1896 – Sea of ​​Barents, 25 May 1928) was an Italian physicist, founder of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Milan, expert during the polar expedition of Italy airship.

The dirigible Italy
The final route of the airship

Of Jewish family, he was born in Milan in 1896 to Alfredo Pontremoli, son of Esdra Pontremoli, and by Lucia Luzzatti, daughter of Luigi Luzzatti. [first] At the age of 10 in 1906 he collaborated with his cousin Mario Pontremoli in the creation of the company A. Pontremoli & Associati, radio-telegraphic companies. In the company, grandfather Luigi Luzzatti, minister of state appeared as honorary president, while Aldo was the operational president and Mario Pontremoli the vice president.

After his high school studies, during which he had the physical fear of honest socks as a teacher, and after a two -year preparatory at the Polytechnic of Milan, he moved to Rome, where he enrolled in the Faculty of Physics. [2]

Volunteer in the First World War, lieutenant of complement of the genius, initially served on the Italian front in the 35th auto -erotic section of the Air Force Corps, deserving a war cross for military valor, and subsequently on the French front where he was decorated with the silver medal at military valor. [3] . At the end of the conflict, returned to Rome and resumed his studies, he graduated in physics in 1920 and became assistant to Professor Corbino. [2] Winner of a scholarship offered by the National Fighting Association, he was able to go to the University of Cambridge, where he perfected his studies at the Cavendish Laboratory Directed by the famous scientist Ernest Rutherford, one of the fathers of nuclear physics.

In 1924 he obtained free teaching in higher physics. Called at the University of Milan, he founded and directed, from 1924 to 1928, the Institute of Complementary Physics. [2] Together with Enrico Fermi and Enrico Persico he was one of the three winners of the first Italian competition for the chair of theoretical physics and was assigned that of the Lombard University. [4] His studies particularly concerned the perspective, radioactivity and hydrodynamics and were mainly published in the Lincei reports of the homonymous academy and in Reports of the Lombard Institute Academy of Sciences and Letters. Some writings of a popular nature appeared in the magazine The literary fair .

In 1928, at the age of thirty -two, he took part in the polar expedition of the “Italy” airship, under the command of General Umberto Nobile [5] . On May 25 the airship, after quickly losing altitude, violently shouted the soil and ten components of the expedition were thrown out. The aircraft, seriously damaged and without commands, immediately resumed with the remaining six men on board, including Pontremoli. Of their fate, nothing is known; They probably precipitated shortly after in the sea of ​​Barents. [2] In the disaster, the scientific results of the expedition noted by the scientist were largely lost, including the measurements of the Earth’s magnetic field. [2]

At his death, his mother Lucia Luzzati established a competition with his own funds named after him who rewarded the best students of the Physics Department. With the advent of the racial laws of 1938, the fascist regime abolished the competition and seized the funds. The competition was again established in 2018 following an initiative of the University of Milan.

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Military honors [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Medaglia d'argento al valor militare - nastrino per uniforme ordinaria Silver medal for military valor
‘ Observer officer from the ball, he completed more than 300 hours of ascension, always showing admirable daring. Detached at a French aerostators, during an ascent, suddenly attached with gusts of machine guns with two enemy airplanes, it opened the fire against the first sight, and having the second airplane set the ball, descended with the parachute with a share of 250 meters, landing In very difficult conditions with the temporary failure to make the parachute itself and to precipitate very close to the burning ball. Nonetheless, as soon as I landed, he asked to trace at altitude with another ball, to resume observation, thus demonstrating great value, cold tenacity and high feeling of duty. Courcelles (France), 5 October 1918. »
Croce di guerra al valor militare - nastrino per uniforme ordinaria War Cross to Military Valor
‘ Aerostere from the first months of the war, as an observer from the braked ball, in the most difficult circumstances, always worked with self -denial, calm, firmness and contempt for danger. Carsico and Basso Piave sky, October 1915-December 1917. »

Acknowledgment [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Two Russian islands of the archipelago of the land of Francesco Giuseppe, in the Arctic Ocean, are named after him.

In addition, the Physics Department of the University of Milan is also named after him.

  1. ^ Aldo Pontremoli , in TRECCANI.IT – encyclopedia online , Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ a b c d It is f The new asset , 1930, see references in the bibliography.
  3. ^ http://decoratialliTare.istitutonastroazzzurro.org/#
  4. ^ Enrico Fermi, first classified, was assigned the chair of the University of Rome, to Enrico Persico, second, that of Florence. Source: Edoardo Amaldi, My days with Fermi , adapted from Two thousand physics , Supplement to the Republic , number 285 of 3/12/1986, p. 44.
  5. ^ Already during the First World War, Pontremoli had been employed “at a French aerostators company” and had participated in actions on board aerostatic balls. Source: The new asset , see references in the bibliography.

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