Giuseppe Paolo Stanislao Occhialini (1907–1993) A Short Biography

The development of my studies is typical of those of many people of my generation. Those among us who started their research trying to understand the nature of cosmic rays had been induced to the hunting of new particles. Actually, for more than twenty years, the only source of new particles had been the cosmic radiation. In such a way, the positron, the \(\pi \) - and \(\mu \) -mesons, the K-mesons, and the hyperons had been discovered. In 1954, when the Bevatron, the big accelerating machine, able to produce strange particles and the anti-proton, started to work, this time of grace of the cosmic rays found its end. At that time the physicists, who had an easy, adventurous, and less expensive way, found themselves in front of a choice.