Giuseppe Occhialini and the History of Cosmic-Ray Physics in the 1930s: From Florence to Cambridge

Giuseppe Occhialini’s stay in Cambridge at the Cavendish laboratory spanned three years, from 1931 to 1934, although he originally had left Italy for England with the idea of staying only three months. This “Cambridge period” turned out to be most important in his scientific life and established him as a confirmed researcher. The work he performed on cloud chambers, cosmic rays and the positron, with the Cavendish physicist Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett made him one of the leading figures in the international scientific scene of the thirties. It contributed an essential part of our present-day physical knowledge.