Google Doodle Celebrates César Lattes: Brazilian Physicist and Pioneer in Particle Physics

Today's Google Doodle celebrates César Lattes, a Brazilian physicist who made significant contributions to particle physics. Lattes was born in 1924 in Curitiba, Brazil. He studied physics at the University of São Paulo and earned his doctorate in 1949. After graduating, he moved to the United States and worked at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1947, Lattes co-discovered the pion, a subatomic particle important to the strong nuclear force. The pion was the first meson discovered, opening a new field in physics. Lattes continued his work in particle physics throughout his career, making many other important contributions. He died in 2005 at the age of 81.

Lattes was a brilliant physicist who made significant contributions to our understanding of the universe. His work helped lay the foundation for the Standard Model of particle physics. This model is our best understanding of the fundamental forces and particles that make up the universe. Lattes was also a gifted teacher and mentor, inspiring many young scientists to pursue careers in physics.

Today, Lattes is remembered as one of the most important physicists of the 20th century. His work has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. He continues to inspire scientists for generations to come.

On this day in 1924, Lattes was born in Curitiba, Brazil. He studied at the University of São Paulo and graduated in 1943 as the only physics major in his class. In his early twenties, he started studying cosmic rays, or high-energy particles from space. Lattes correctly suspected that adding boron to photographic plates would give him a clearer image of particles breaking down.

It worked so well that he could see each proton. To reach more cosmic rays, a researcher brought two photographic plates to the top of a mountain. The plate that Lattes modified showed tracks from a particle that had never been observed before — the pion! Pions, or pi mesons, are smaller than an atom and form when space matter crashes into Earth’s atmosphere.

Not only did he uncover their existence, but he also found that some mesons are heavier than others. This work won his research team a Nobel Prize in Physics. Shortly after, Lattes became a physics professor at the University of São Paulo and later at the State University of Campinas.

He campaigned for more government funding for science which led to forming CBPF, a physics research institute where Lattes was the scientific director. He mentored many students working on their graduate theses in nuclear emulsion (particle detection) and geochronology (rock dating) across Brazil, the United States, and Italy.

Lattes received many awards for his advancements in nuclear forces and particle physics. These include the Einstein Award from the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and an Order of Merit from Brazil and Italy. Dozens of schools, roads, and town squares are named in his honour.

Happy birthday César Lattes! Thank you for paving the way for experimental physics in Latin America and around the world!