The divided life of Bruno Pontecorvo—physicist or spy

An extract from a new tale of spooks and scientists

by Frank Close / March 13, 2015 / Leave a comment

Bruno Pontecorvo, right, with his fellow physicist Carlo Franzinetti

Bruno Pontecorvo, right, with fellow physicist Carlo Franzinetti

The following is an extract from “Half Life, the divided life of Bruno Pontecorvo” the new book by the Oxford University physicist Frank Close, published by Oneworld. Pontecorvo was a prodigiously gifted physicist who, before the Second World War, worked with Enrico Fermi on the phenomenon of “slow neutrons”, work of fundamental significance in advancing the scientific understanding of matter. Pontecorvo went on to become an outstanding scientist in his own right, and during the war was at the heart of the Allied effort to harness nuclear energy. He worked on highly sensitive reactor projects in both Canada and Britain. After the war he settled in Britain, working at the Harwell nuclear research facility in Oxfordshire. Then in the summer of 1950, Pontecorvo and his family vanished.

Listen to Close discussing his book at a Prospect event:

“Did MI5 get back to you after I forwarded them your letter?”

The neat, handwritten note, on House of Lords stationery, was brief and to the point.When I received it, about two years into my research into the enigmatic life of physicist and possible spy, Bruno Pontecorvo, I had no idea that it would lead me to solve the mystery of his sudden disappearance at the height of the Cold War in 1950.

MI5 did get back to me…

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Comments

TheProfRobin
March 13, 2015 at 18:32
Frank, you mention above that Philby was totally dedicated to the communist cause and we can accept, being "intelligent humans" that what he did was not that much different to what someone in a mirror situation who was dedicated to the British cause might do. You might even take a job with the opposing intelligence service as Philby did and this is where I hit a wall. Philby justifies his job with the British service as a necessity to support his cover and gain more intelligence. But he accepted a salary for doing that and this is where the question of honour arises. Philby would want respect for being true to his cause, but he went and took the King's shilling as well and spent it on himself. He could have put it into a fund and spent it worthy innocents, caught in the cross fire of the cold war. But he could not see beyond cash in hand, into the question of honour. That is where, I suspect he found additional unease at the end of what he probably came to realise was a miserable life: none of his opponents respected him, ass they would a worthy opponent.
Curious
March 17, 2015 at 23:09
Why was Pontecorvo speaking Slovene instead of Russian??....
1. frank close
  March 27, 2015 at 17:35
  What specifically was not Russian? My Russian source, and other Russian speakers, recognise this as Russian, so I am confused by your question

Frank Close is professor of physics at the University of Oxford