Lacerda de Sequeira (Viscount of Barcelos)

Lacerda de Sequeira learnt his first letters from his great-uncle, who also introduced him to the Humanities’ studies; however, Lacerda de Sequeira’s preference for the Natural Sciences soon became apparent. He graduated in Geology from the University of Porto and continued his studies in France, where he joined Madame Curie’s group at the Radio Institute. That’s when he discovered zeta rays and developed a generator to produce them. With this discovery, he obtained his PhD at the University of Paris.

On his return to Portugal, he joined the Mining Research Institute, where he organised and coordinated the prospecting of minerals in the area controlled by the Northern Monarchy, especially iron and wolfram, essential for the manufacture of weapons. Zeta rays have proved to be a very effective technique in prospecting work, given their ability to penetrate solid materials. The detection of reflected or refracted zeta rays allowed inferences about the quality of mineral deposits. Unfortunately, all the information about zeta radiation and the apparatus that produced it was lost when Lacerda de Sequeira died on 23 April 1922. The copy of his PhD thesis, which was supposed to be archived at the University of Paris, was never found.

Reports that Lacerda de Sequeira had detected the deep fault whose rupture led to the Great Catastrophe are just rumours that have never been confirmed.