Horst Korsching
Encyclopedia
Horst Korsching was a German physicist. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation Epsilon
.
in 1932. In 1937, he joined the scientific staff at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik (KWIP, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics), an institute under the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (KWG, Kaiser Wilhelm Society) and located in Dahlem-Berlin
. He received his doctorate under Hermann Schüler.
, and his research was on determination of the nuclear moment and thermodiffusion. During the war years, he worked on isotope separation under Kurt Diebner
and Werner Heisenberg
. He went with the staff of the KWIP when it was moved to Hechingen
in 1943 to avoid bombing casualties. In late spring 1945, Korsching was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months under Operation Epsilon
.
From 1946, after his incarceration, Korsching worked at the Max-Planck Institut für Physik
(MPIP), which was the renamed Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik and had been opened in the British Occupation Zone in Göttingen. In 1958, he moved with the MPIP when it was relocated to Munich.
(Research Reports in Nuclear Physics), an internal publication of the German Uranverein
. Reports in this publication 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
.
Operation Epsilon
Operation Epsilon was the codename of a program in which Allied forces near the end of World War II detained ten German scientists who were thought to have worked on Nazi Germany's nuclear program. The scientists were captured between May 1 and June 30, 1945, and interned at Farm Hall, a bugged...
.
Education
Korsching began his studies of physics at the Humboldt University of BerlinHumboldt 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 1932. In 1937, he joined the scientific staff at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik (KWIP, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics), an institute under the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft (KWG, Kaiser Wilhelm Society) and located in Dahlem-Berlin
Dahlem
Dahlem can refer to:*Dahlem , a district of Berlin, part of the borough Steglitz-Zehlendorf.*Dahlem, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany.*Dahlem, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipality in south-western Germany....
. He received his doctorate under Hermann Schüler.
Career
At the KWIP, he was a colleague of Karl WirtzKarl Wirtz
Karl Eugen Julius Wirtz was a German nuclear physicist. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation Epsilon.-Education:...
, and his research was on determination of the nuclear moment and thermodiffusion. During the war years, he worked on isotope separation under Kurt Diebner
Kurt Diebner
Kurt Diebner was a German nuclear physicist who is well known for directing and administrating the German nuclear energy project, a secretive program aiming to built weapon of mass destruction for the Nazi Germany during the course of World War II...
and Werner Heisenberg
Werner 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...
. He went with the staff of the KWIP when it was moved to Hechingen
Hechingen
Hechingen is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border.- City districts :...
in 1943 to avoid bombing casualties. In late spring 1945, Korsching was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months under Operation Epsilon
Operation Epsilon
Operation Epsilon was the codename of a program in which Allied forces near the end of World War II detained ten German scientists who were thought to have worked on Nazi Germany's nuclear program. The scientists were captured between May 1 and June 30, 1945, and interned at Farm Hall, a bugged...
.
From 1946, after his incarceration, Korsching worked at the Max-Planck Institut für Physik
Max Planck Institute for Physics
Max Planck Institute for Physics is a physics institute in Munich, Germany that specializes in High Energy Physics and Astroparticle physics. It is part of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and is also known as the Werner Heisenberg Institute, after its first director.It was founded as the Kaiser Wilhelm...
(MPIP), which was the renamed Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik and had been opened in the British Occupation Zone in Göttingen. In 1958, he moved with the MPIP when it was relocated to Munich.
Internal Report
The following 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...
. Reports in this publication 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...
.
- Horst Korsching Trennung von schwerem und leichtem Benzol durch Termo-Diffusion in flüssiger Phase, 5 September 1941. G-102.
- Horst Korsching Zur Frage des Isotopeneffekts bei Thermodiffusion in flüssiger Phase, 25 February 1942. G-174.
Selected Literature
- H. Schüler und H. Korsching Zur Frage nach Gesetzmäßigkeiten beim Aufbau des Atomkernes, Naturwissenschaften Volume 24, Number 50, Pages 796-797 (December, 1936)
- Horst Korschung Quadrupolmoment von 83Kr36, 131Xe54 und mechanisches Moment von 83Kr36, Zeitschrift für Physik Volume 109, Numbers 5-6, Pages 349-357 (May, 1938). The author is cited as being at a facility in Berlin-Dahlem. The article was received 10 March 1938.
- H. Schüler und H. Korsching Magnetische Momente von 171, 173 Yb und Isotopenverschiebung beim Yb I , Zeitschrift für Physik Volume 111, Numbers 5-6, Pages 386-390 (May, 1938). The authors were cited as being at a facility in Berlin-Dahlem. The article was received 1 November 1938.
- Horst Korsching and Karl Wirtz Trennung von Flüssigkeitsgemischen mittels kombinierter Thermodiffusion und Thermosiphonwirkung: Methode von ClusiusKlaus ClusiusKlaus Clusius was a German physical chemist from Breslau , Silesia. During World War II, he worked on the German nuclear energy project, also known as the Uranium Club; he worked on isotope separation techniques and heavy water production...
und Dickel, Naturwissenschaften Volume 27, Number 7, Page 110 (February, 1939)
- Horst Korsching Trennung von Benzol und Hexadeuterobenzol durch Thermodiffusion in der Flüssigkeit, Naturwissenschaften Volume 31, Numbers 29-30, Pages 348-349 (July, 1943)
- Horst Korsching Ein abgeändertes Verfahren bei der Trennung von Lösungsbestandteilen durch Thermodiffusion in der Flüssigkeit, Naturwissenschafte Volume 32, Numbers 27-39, Page 220 (July, 1944)
Books
- Horst Korsching and Karl WirtzKarl WirtzKarl Eugen Julius Wirtz was a German nuclear physicist. He was arrested by the allied British and American Armed Forces and incarcerated at Farm Hall for six months in 1945 under Operation Epsilon.-Education:...
Trennung der Zinkisotope durch Thermodiffusion in flüssiger Phase (Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1939)
External links
- MPIWG – Max Planck Institute for the History of Science