Siegfried Flügge
Encyclopedia
Siegfried Flügge was a German
theoretical physicist and made contributions to nuclear physics. He worked at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Chemie and worked in the German Uranverein
(Uranium Club). He was editor of the 54-volume, prestigious Handbuch der Physik.
) and the Georg-August University of Göttingen. He received his doctorate at the latter, under Max Born
, in 1933.
at the University of Leipzig
. From 1937 to 1942, as successor to Max Delbrück
, Flügge was an assistant to Otto Hahn
at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Chemie (KWIC, after World War II reorganized and renamed the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
), in Berlin-Dahlem
.
In 1938, Flügge completed his Habilitation
at the Technische Hochschule München (today, the Technical University of Munich
).
In December 1938, the German chemists Otto Hahn
and Fritz Strassmann
sent a manuscript to Naturwissenschaften
reporting they had detected the element barium
after bombarding uranium
with neutrons; simultaneously, they communicated these results to Lise Meitner
, who had in July of that year fled to The Netherlands and then went to Sweden
. Meitner, and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch
, correctly interpreted these results as being nuclear fission
. Frisch confirmed this experimentally on 13 January 1939. Flügge and Gottfried von Droste
, an assistant to Meitner, independently also predicted a large energy release from nuclear fission.
Also in 1939, Flügge published two influential articles on the exploitation of nuclear energy. From then he worked on the German nuclear energy project
; collaborators on aspects of this project were for a time known collectively as the Uranverein (Uranium Club). Some with whom he collaborated were Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
and Fritz Houtermans
on the theoretical basis of the Uranmaschine (literally uranium machine, i.e., nuclear reactor
. Flügge also extended Niels Bohr’s
and J. A. Wheeler’s
theory of nuclear fission published in 1939.
The papers by Flügge on the exploitation of nuclear energy were an impetus for action. For example, the Auergesellschaft
had a substantial amount of “waste” uranium
from which it had extracted radium
. After reading Flügge’s paper in Die Naturwissenschaften
on the technical use of nuclear energy from uranium, Nikolaus Riehl
, the scientific director at Auergesellschaft, recognized a business opportunity for the company. In July 1939, he went to the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) to discuss the production of uranium. The HWA was interested.
In 1940, on the initiative of Rudolf Tomaschek
, despite Wilhelm Müller’s objection, Flügge lectured at the Technische Hochschule München on theoretical physics during the winter semester. From 1941, he was a lecturer at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität (today, the Humboldt University of Berlin
).
In 1944, Flügge was an ordinarius professor at the University of Königsberg
. From 1945 to 1947, he took a position at his alma mater, the University of Göttingen. From 1947 to 1949, he had a position at the Philipps-Universität Marburg. From 1949 to 1950, he was a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
and in 1953 at the Carnegie Institute of Technology
. Later, he was at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
.
From 1956 to 1984, Flügge was editor of the 54-volume, prestigious Handbuch der Physik (Encyclopedia of Physics) published by Springer-Verlag.
(Research Reports in Nuclear Physics), an internal publication of the German Uranverein
. The reports were classified Top Secret, they had very limited distribution, and the authors were not allowed to keep copies. The reports were confiscated under the Allied Operation Alsos
and sent to the United States Atomic Energy Commission
for evaluation. In 1971, the reports were declassified and returned to Germany. The reports are available at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center and the American Institute of Physics
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
theoretical physicist and made contributions to nuclear physics. He worked at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Chemie and worked in the German Uranverein
German nuclear energy project
The German nuclear energy project, , was an attempted clandestine scientific effort led by Germany to develop and produce the atomic weapons during the events involving the World War II...
(Uranium Club). He was editor of the 54-volume, prestigious Handbuch der Physik.
Education
From 1929 to 1933, Flügge studied physics at the Technische Hochschule Dresden (after 1961, the Dresden University of TechnologyDresden University of Technology
The Technische Universität Dresden is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony and one of the 10 largest universities in Germany with 36,066 students...
) and the Georg-August University of Göttingen. He received his doctorate at the latter, under Max Born
Max Born
Max Born was a German-born physicist and mathematician who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics and supervised the work of a number of notable physicists in the 1920s and 30s...
, in 1933.
Career
From 1933 to 1935, he was a teaching assistant at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. From 1936 to 1937, he was a teaching assistant to Werner HeisenbergWerner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. From 1937 to 1942, as successor to Max Delbrück
Max Delbrück
Max Ludwig Henning Delbrück was a German-American biophysicist and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Delbrück was born in Berlin, German Empire...
, Flügge was an assistant to Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner...
at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Chemie (KWIC, after World War II reorganized and renamed the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
The Max Planck Institute for Chemistry is a scientific research institute under the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.Basic research in chemistry and related subjects is carried out at the four departments of the institute. The departments are independently led by their Directors.-The departments:The...
), in Berlin-Dahlem
Dahlem (Berlin)
Dahlem is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. Dahlem is one of the most affluent parts of the city and home to the main campus of the Free University of Berlin with the...
.
In 1938, Flügge completed his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
at the Technische Hochschule München (today, the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
).
In December 1938, the German chemists Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn
Otto Hahn FRS was a German chemist and Nobel laureate, a pioneer in the fields of radioactivity and radiochemistry. He is regarded as "the father of nuclear chemistry". Hahn was a courageous opposer of Jewish persecution by the Nazis and after World War II he became a passionate campaigner...
and Fritz Strassmann
Fritz Strassmann
Friedrich Wilhelm "Fritz" Strassmann was a German chemist who, with Otto Hahn in 1938, identified barium in the residue after bombarding uranium with neutrons, which led to the interpretation of their results as being from nuclear fission...
sent a manuscript to Naturwissenschaften
Die Naturwissenschaften
Naturwissenschaften is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer on behalf of several learned societies.- History :...
reporting they had detected the element barium
Barium
Barium is a chemical element with the symbol Ba and atomic number 56. It is the fifth element in Group 2, a soft silvery metallic alkaline earth metal. Barium is never found in nature in its pure form due to its reactivity with air. Its oxide is historically known as baryta but it reacts with...
after bombarding uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
with neutrons; simultaneously, they communicated these results to Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner
Lise Meitner FRS was an Austrian-born, later Swedish, physicist who worked on radioactivity and nuclear physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, an achievement for which her colleague Otto Hahn was awarded the Nobel Prize...
, who had in July of that year fled to The Netherlands and then went to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Meitner, and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch
Otto Robert Frisch
Otto Robert Frisch , Austrian-British physicist. With his collaborator Rudolf Peierls he designed the first theoretical mechanism for the detonation of an atomic bomb in 1940.- Overview :...
, correctly interpreted these results as being nuclear fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
. Frisch confirmed this experimentally on 13 January 1939. Flügge and Gottfried von Droste
Gottfried von Droste
Gottfried von Droste , a.k.a. Gottfried von Droste zu Vischering-Padberg, was a German physical chemist. He worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Chemistry. He independently predicted that nuclear fission would release a large amount of energy. During World War II, he participated in the...
, an assistant to Meitner, independently also predicted a large energy release from nuclear fission.
Also in 1939, Flügge published two influential articles on the exploitation of nuclear energy. From then he worked on the German nuclear energy project
German nuclear energy project
The German nuclear energy project, , was an attempted clandestine scientific effort led by Germany to develop and produce the atomic weapons during the events involving the World War II...
; collaborators on aspects of this project were for a time known collectively as the Uranverein (Uranium Club). Some with whom he collaborated were Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the research team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under Werner Heisenberg's leadership...
and Fritz Houtermans
Fritz Houtermans
Friedrich Georg "Fritz" Houtermans was a Dutch-Austrian-German atomic and nuclear physicist born in Zoppot near Danzig, West Prussia...
on the theoretical basis of the Uranmaschine (literally uranium machine, i.e., nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
. Flügge also extended Niels Bohr’s
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
and J. A. Wheeler’s
John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist who was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in explaining the basic principles behind nuclear fission...
theory of nuclear fission published in 1939.
The papers by Flügge on the exploitation of nuclear energy were an impetus for action. For example, the Auergesellschaft
Auergesellschaft
The industrial firm Auergesellschaft was founded in 1892 with headquarters in Berlin. Up to the end of World War II, Auergesellschaft had research activities in the areas of gas mantles, luminescence, rare earths, radioactivity, and uranium and thorium compounds. In 1934, the corporation was...
had a substantial amount of “waste” uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
from which it had extracted radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
. After reading Flügge’s paper in Die Naturwissenschaften
Die Naturwissenschaften
Naturwissenschaften is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer on behalf of several learned societies.- History :...
on the technical use of nuclear energy from uranium, Nikolaus Riehl
Nikolaus Riehl
Nikolaus Riehl was a German industrial nuclear chemist. He was head of the scientific headquarters of Auergesellschaft. When the Russians entered Berlin near the end of World War II, he was invited to the Soviet Union, where he stayed for 10 years...
, the scientific director at Auergesellschaft, recognized a business opportunity for the company. In July 1939, he went to the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) to discuss the production of uranium. The HWA was interested.
In 1940, on the initiative of Rudolf Tomaschek
Rudolf Tomaschek
Rudolf Karl Anton Tomaschek was a German experimental physicist. His scientific efforts included work on phosphorescence, fluorescence, and gravitation. Tomaschek was a supporter of deutsche Physik, which resulted in his suspension from his university posts after World War II...
, despite Wilhelm Müller’s objection, Flügge lectured at the Technische Hochschule München on theoretical physics during the winter semester. From 1941, he was a lecturer at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität (today, the Humboldt University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
).
In 1944, Flügge was an ordinarius professor at the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
. From 1945 to 1947, he took a position at his alma mater, the University of Göttingen. From 1947 to 1949, he had a position at the Philipps-Universität Marburg. From 1949 to 1950, he was a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
and in 1953 at the Carnegie Institute of Technology
Carnegie Institute of Technology
The Carnegie Institute of Technology , is the name for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. It was first called the Carnegie Technical Schools, or Carnegie Tech, when it was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie who intended to build a “first class technical school” in Pittsburgh,...
. Later, he was at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
.
From 1956 to 1984, Flügge was editor of the 54-volume, prestigious Handbuch der Physik (Encyclopedia of Physics) published by Springer-Verlag.
Internal report
The following reports were published in Kernphysikalische ForschungsberichteKernphysikalische Forschungsberichte
Kernphysikalische Forschungsberichte was an internal publication of the German Uranverein, which was initiated under the Heereswaffenamt in 1939; in 1942, supervision of the Uranverein was turned over to the Reichsforschungsrat under the Reichserziehungsministerium...
(Research Reports in Nuclear Physics), an internal publication of the German Uranverein
German nuclear energy project
The German nuclear energy project, , was an attempted clandestine scientific effort led by Germany to develop and produce the atomic weapons during the events involving the World War II...
. The reports were classified Top Secret, they had very limited distribution, and the authors were not allowed to keep copies. The reports were confiscated under the Allied Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos was an effort at the end of World War II by the Allies , branched off from the Manhattan Project, to investigate the German nuclear energy project, seize German nuclear resources, materials and personnel to further American research and to prevent their capture by the Soviets, and...
and sent to the United States Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
for evaluation. In 1971, the reports were declassified and returned to Germany. The reports are available at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center and the American Institute of Physics
American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics promotes science, the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies...
.
- Siegfried Flügge Zur spontanene Spaltung von Uran und seinen nachbarelementen G-140 (27 January 1942)
- Kurt Sauerwein and Siegfried Flügge Untersuchungen I und II über den Resonanzeinfang von Neutronen beim Uran G-185 (28 January 1942)
Selected literature
- Siegfried Flügge Kann der Energieinhalt der Atomkerne technisch nutzbar gemacht werden?, Die NaturwissenschaftenDie NaturwissenschaftenNaturwissenschaften is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer on behalf of several learned societies.- History :...
Volume 27, Issues 23/24, 402–410 (9 June 1939).
- Siegfried Flügge Die Ausnutzung der Atomenergie. Vom Laboratoriumsversuch zur Uranmaschine – Forschungsergebnisse in Dahlem, Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung No. 387, Supplement (15 August 1939). English translation: Document #74 Siegfried Flügge: Exploiting Atomic Energy. From the Laboatory Experiment to the Uranium Machine – Research Results in Dahlem [August 15, 1939] in Hentschel, Klaus (Editor) and Ann M. Hentschel (Editorial Assistant and Translator) Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources (Birkhäuser, 1996) pp 197-206. [This article is Flügge's popularized version of the June 1939 article in Die Naturwissenschaften.]
- Siegfried Flügge and Gottfried von Droste Energetische Betrachtungen zu der Entstehung von Barium bei der Neutronenbestrahlung von Uran, Zeitschrift für Physikalische ChemieZeitschrift für Physikalische ChemieZeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie is a physical chemistry journal published in Germany. Its name literally means "Journal of Physical Chemistry", but its official English-language subtitle is "International journal of research in physical chemistry and chemical physics". Its emphasis is on...
B Volume 4, 274–280 (1939). Received on 22 January 1939.
Books
- Erwin Madelung, Karl Böhle, and Siegfried Flügge Mathematischen Hilfsmittel des Physikers (Mathematical Tools for the Physicist), Dritte vermehrte und verbesserte Auflage) (Dover, 1943)
- Walther BotheWalther BotheWalther Wilhelm Georg Bothe was a German nuclear physicist, who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1954 with Max Born....
and Siegfried Flügge. Nuclear Physics and Cosmic Rays: FIAT Review of German Science 1939-1946. 2 volumes. 230; 198 pages. (Office of Military Government for Germany, 1948)
- Siegfried Flügge Theoretische Optik. Die Entwicklung einer physikalischen Theorie (Wolfenbüttler Verlagsanstalt, 1948)
- Siegfried Flügge Bücher der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften (Wolfenbutteler-Verlags-Anstalt, 1948)
- Siegfried Flügge and Hans Marschall Rechenmethoden Der Quantentheorie (Springer Verlag, 1952)
- Siegfried Flügge and Hans Marschall Rechenmethoden der Quantentheorie. Dargestellt in Aufgaben und Lösungen. Erster Teil: Elementare Quantenmechanik. (Springer-Verlag, 1952)
- Siegfried Flügge Handbuch der Physik. Bd. 7. 1. Kristallphysik 1 (Springer Verlag, 1955)
- Siegfried Flügge Lehrbuch der Theoretischen Physik (in 5 Bänden). Band 1: Einführung - Elementare Mechanik und Kontinuumsphysik. (Springer, 1961)
- Siegfried Flügge Lehrbuch der Theoretischen Physik. Bd. III: Klassische Physik II. Das Maxwellsche Feld. Bln. (Spinger, 1961)
- Siegfried Flügge Lehrbuch der Theoretischen Physik (in 5 Bänden). Band 4: Quantentheorie I. (Springer, 1964)
- Siegfried Flügge Rechenmethoden der Quantentheorie;Elementare Quantenmechanik - Dargestellt in Aufgaben und Lösungen (Springer Verlag, 1965)
- Siegfried Flügge Lehrbuch der Theoretischen Physik Band II - Klassische Physik I Mechanik Der Geordneten und Ungeordneten Bewegungen (Springer, 1967)
- Siegfried Flügge Wege und Ziele der modernen Physik. (Schulz Freiburg, 1969)
- Siegfried Flügge Practical Quantum Mechanics - Volume 1 and Volume 2 (Springer, 1971)
- Siegfried Flügge Wege und Ziele der Physik (Springer-Verlag, 1974)
- Siegfried Flügge Practical Quantum Mechanics (Springer, 1998)
External links
- The Atomkeller-Museum at Haigerloch Waymark