Gernot Zippe | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 1917 |
| Died | 7 May 2008 (2008-05-08) (aged 90) |
| Nationality | German |
| Citizenship |  Austria |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Known for | Zippe-type centrifuge Soviet program of nuclear weapons |
| Awards | .jpg) Wilhelm Exner Medal (1990) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mechanical engineering |
| Institutions | Luftwaffe Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Tomsk-7 University of Virginia Urenco Group |
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Gernot Zippe (November 1917 – 7 May 2008) was anAustrianmechanical engineer and anuclear physicist ofGerman origin who is widely credited with leading the team which developed theZippe-type centrifuge– a centrifuge machine for theenrichment and collection ofuranium-235, during his time in the formerSoviet program of nuclear weapons.: 47 [1]
Zippe was born inWarnsdorf which was then part of theAustria-Hungary in November 1917.: 54–55 [2] The Zippe family later moved toVienna which allowed him to attend theUniversity of Vienna and earned hisdoctorate in mechanical engineering in 1939.: 54–55 [2] Zippe had earlier interests inaeronautical engineering and was a civilian flight instructor in the GermanLuftwaffe; while he also filled a role as a researcher on radar andpropellers.: 54–55 [2]
During theWorld War II, Zippe was captured by theRed Army and held inSoviet custody in Prague until 1946 when the Soviet intelligence, theNKVD, learned of his technical background and moved him toRussia to work on theisotope separation for the feasibility of the weapon-grade uranium.: 55 [2][3] Zippe who had never worked on a centrifuge before took over the project but he workedMax Steenbeck on the feasibility of the machine with the provided Russian intelligence on the works of AmericanJesse Beams from theManhattan Project.: 59 [2] The project was carried out at the Institute A in Sukhumi and was being overseen by German physicist,Manfred von Ardenne, and directed by another German scientistMax Steenbeck, whose theoretical achievements Zippe used to successful deployment in 1950.: 59 [2]
In 1952, Zippe was transferred toSaint Petersburg to continue his work on theefficiency with the Russian scientists, which he stayed until 1954.: 60–61 [2] It was an standard practice by the captured German scientists to quarantine if they had work on theSoviet program of nuclear weapons, which Zippe did while being interned in transition camp inKyiv.: 64
In 1956, Zippe was notified by theSoviet administration inUkraine of his release, and he decided to settle inGermany as opposed toAustria.: 64 In 1957, Zippe attended the conference on centrifuge research inAmsterdam, he realized the rest of the world was far behind what his team had been able to achieve.: 64 During this time, Zippe was able to found an employment withAMOLF as aconsultant on centrifuge technology.: 65 In 1965, Zippe left AMOLF to join theDuggas AG (nowTrade name: Evonik Industries) as a consultant until 1969 when he decided to join the consultant staff of theUrenco Group until his retirement in 1990.: 65
It was the Dutch physicistJacob Kistemaker [nl] who filed and applied for the first patent in the European and U.S. patents authorities as a functional gas-ultracentrifuge developed at AMOLF, which he credited after Zippe:Zippe-type.[4]
In 1960, Zippe traveled to theUnited States on the sponsorship of theUniversity of Virginia, facilitated byJesse Beams, where he did an unclassified postdoctoral research on the centrifuge technology.: 4369 [5][6] In spite of his notes confiscated by the Soviet government, Zippe was able to re-create the centrifuge machine and published a research thesis on the development and efficiency of the gas centrifuge at the University of Virginia in the United States.[7]: 1767 [8]
Impressed by his work, the United States government tried to recruit him for an on-going centrifuge program but he was restricted from gaining the classified information on the United States' nuclear weapons program; he refused and returned to work with German firms.[7] Following his return to Germany, theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission awarded contract works to its private firms to start work on the gas centrifuge, and marked his technical reports as classified documents on 1 August 1960.[7]
While working as consultant in the Urenco Group in Amsterdam, he was able to improve the efficiency of the gas centrifuge. He enjoyed flying and flew planes until he was 80 years old.[7] Zippe passed away inBad Tölz,Bavaria, Germany, on 7 May 2008, aged 90.[4]
From 2006–08, Zippe was a subject of interests in European political media which noted that his invention made it cheaper to produce fuel fornuclear reactors but also to buildnuclear weapons, which increased the risk ofnuclear proliferation.[7] When asked if he has any regrets, he responded, "With a kitchen knife you can peel a potato or kill your neighbor, it's up to governments to use the centrifuge for the benefit of mankind."[7]
Although, the United States and the European media credited Gernot Zippe of being the innovator of the machine, the Russian sources, however, disputed the account of Soviet centrifuge development given by Gernot Zippe.[9] The Russians creditedMax Steenbeck, as the German scientist in charge of the German part of the Soviet centrifuge effort,Isaac Kikoin and Evgeni Kamenev with originating different valuable aspects of the design.[9]
The Russian accounts stated that Zippe was engaged in building prototypes for the project for two years from 1953 but, since the centrifuge project was with the"Top Secret" designation, the Russians did not challenge any of Zippe's claims at that time.[9]
In Hebrew, the name "Gernot Zippe" (גרנוט ציפה) is ananagram of the word "Centrifuge" (צנטריפוגה).
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