“There are several categories of scientists in the world. Those of second or third rank do their best but never get very far. Next, there is the first rank, those who make important discoveries, fundamental to scientific progress. And then, there are the geniuses, like Galileo and Newton. Majorana was one of these.”
Enrico Fermi
(Physics Nobel Prize 1938)
March 25 2024 — On 25 March 1938, Italian theoretical physicist Ettore Majorana disappeared under mysterious circumstances after purchasing a ticket to travel by ship from Palermo to Naples. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities
UPDATE (May 31, 2024) — Last Saturday, Elon Musk tweeted praise for the Majorana Project, which I initiated in 2000. At the time, I urged the US Department of Energy (DOE) to prioritize funding for its significant implications in particle physics and its numerous applications, including intelligence matters.
By the way… I may have been the first non-U.S. citizen ever invited to speak on the 7th floor of the Forrestal Building. [The Forrestal Building is the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Located in Washington, D.C., and named after James Forrestal, the first U.S. Secretary of Defense, the building is a key site for governmental operations and policy-making related to energy and nuclear security.]
I named the project in honor of Italian physicist Ettore Majorana after my visit to Dubna, as I have explained in this post.
I must choose my words carefully, but I will nevertheless make a few comments. Readers of this blog should be able to read between the lines.
I believe Majorana’s decision to leave physics was motivated by the same reasons that prompted me to abandon my research.
In 1996, I received offers from all universities that operate a nuclear physics laboratory funded by the US DOE: officially from Duke and Yale, and unofficially from Texas A&M. (There was no point in making an official offer as I had already indicated I would not accept.)
I chose Duke, a decision I deeply regret as it quickly became apparent it was the wrong environment for conducting important research. Yale might have been a better choice. I’ll never know for sure, but David Allan Bromley (May 4, 1926 – February 10, 2005), who was pushing hard for my recruitment, had served as the science advisor to President George H. W. Bush. Unlike the administration at Duke, Bromley would have immediately understood the importance of the Majorana Project.
[Note: The President’s Science Advisor is the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Nominees for this high-level position are subject to Senate confirmation as part of the checks and balances in the U.S. federal government. This process involves nomination by the President, review by relevant Senate committees, and a confirmation vote by the full Senate.]
Initially, I was baffled by Elon Musk’s message. I now understand what is happening. Trump made a significant error by waiting until July 2018 to nominate a Science Advisor. The Senate confirmed meteorologist Kelvin Droegemeier in January 2019. I suspect that if re-elected, Trump might nominate Elon Musk as Director of the OSTP. Musk’s cryptic message on X about the Majorana Project likely indicates the kind of critical research he would champion.
What if? In hindsight, it is quite evident that things would have been very different if I had chosen Texas A&M. Robert M. Gates became President of the university on August 1, 2002, and served until December 18, 2006. And of course, Gates previously served as the 15th Director of Central Intelligence (from November 6, 1991, to January 20, 1993). What a missed opportunity…
One thing is certain: 25 years have been wasted. I will make a prediction. If the Chinese develop the Majorana Project before the Americans, the CIA will face significant consequences. And you can take this to the bank.
END of UPDATE
“If Ettore decided to leave, we should respect his decision and search for him no more.”
Ettore’s brother Luciano
Ettore Majorana purchased a ticket on March 25, 1938, for a boat trip to return from Palermo to Naples. However, he disappeared under unknown circumstances.
The investigation into Majorana’s disappearance was led by Cesare Mori, an Italian general and former prefect renowned for combating organized crime in Sicily during the early 20th century. Despite extensive efforts, Majorana’s body was never found.
Various theories emerged to explain his disappearance, ranging from suicide to retirement into a monastery, and even suggestions of kidnapping or murder to prevent his involvement in atomic weapons construction.
During a visit to Dubna, Russia, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, I had the opportunity to explore the office of Bruno Pontecorvo, a colleague and friend of Majorana, who defected to the Soviet Union in 1950.
Among Pontecorvo’s possessions, I stumbled upon a folder titled ‘Majorana’, containing letters and newspaper articles about the enigmatic physicist. This encounter reinforced my belief that Majorana did not perish in March 1938.
In March 2011, Italian media reported that the Rome Attorney’s Office had launched an inquiry into a witness statement claiming to have met Majorana in Buenos Aires in the post-World War II years. Subsequently, in June 2011, the Carabinieri’s RIS (Scientific Division) analyzed a photograph taken in Argentina in 1955, identifying ten points of similarity with Majorana’s face.
On February 4, 2015, the Rome Attorney’s Office declared Majorana to have been alive between 1955 and 1959, residing in Valencia, Venezuela.
With this new evidence, the investigation concluded, officially closing the disappearance case. No criminal evidence was found, leading to the presumption that Majorana made a personal choice to disappear, likely emigrating to Venezuela.
REFERENCES
Ettore Majorana — Wikipedia
On This Day — Italian Physicist Ettore Majorana vanishes (March 25, 1938) [What Elon Musk does not know…]
=
On This Day — Italian Physicist Ettore Majorana vanishes (March 25, 1938)
“Ho visto tanti cadaveri nella mia vita, che riconosco un cadavere quando lo vedo. E Majorana non era un cadavere.”
Italian General Cesare Mori
Intel Today 