The Physicist Rolf Widerøe – a Giant in the History of Accelerators
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Springer Biographies Obsessed by a Dream The Physicist Rolf Widerøe – a Giant in the History of Accelerators AASHILD SØRHEIM Springer Biographies Te books published in the Springer Biographies tell of the life and work of scholars, innovators, and pioneers in all felds of learning and throughout the ages. Prominent scientists and philosophers will feature, but so too will lesser known personalities whose signifcant contributions deserve greater recognition and whose remarkable life stories will stir and motivate readers. Authored by historians and other academic writers, the volumes describe and analyse the main achievements of their subjects in manner accessible to nonspecialists, interweaving these with salient aspects of the protagonists’ personal lives. Autobiographies and memoirs also fall into the scope of the series. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13617 Aashild Sørheim Obsessed by a Dream The Physicist Rolf Widerøe – a Giant in the History of Accelerators Aashild Sørheim Oslo, Norway Translated by Frank Stewart, Bathgate, UK ISSN 2365-0613 ISSN 2365-0621 (electronic) Springer Biographies ISBN 978-3-030-26337-9 ISBN 978-3-030-26338-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26338-6 Translation from the Norwegian language edition: Besatt av en drøm. Historien om Rolf Widerøe by Aashild Sørheim, © Forlaget Historie & Kultur AS, Oslo, Norway, 2015. All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 9788283230000 © Te Editor(s) (if applicable) and Te Author(s) 2020. Tis book is an open access publication. 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Tis work is subject to copyright. All commercial rights are reserved by the author(s), whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Regarding these commercial rights a non-exclusive license has been granted to the publisher. Te use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Te publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Te publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional afliations. Tis translation has been published with the fnancial support of NORLA Tis Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG Te registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To Professor Tor Brustad who handed me the baton - and then cheered me on Preface I tell of a man of the world, tall and dark. Particular about his after-shave; trousers carefully pressed; gallant; cheerful in dance and fuent in speech. Knows where the martini glasses are stored, preferably in neat lines. Accurate German grammar. Less accurate English, but enthusiastically expressive. When he addresses a meeting his message is clear, whether it be about the storage of atomic waste or the treatment of cancer. He is working in the garden, wearing a Mao suit that he bought in China. What will the neighbours think? As if he would bother about that. His wife might, but not him. He has brought some plants from overseas, carefully transported in test tubes in his hand baggage. Home now, he is planting the cuttings carefully in his overgrown garden, which despite all his loving care looks like a wilderness. When he has a cold, he treats it by dipping a plug of cotton wool in red wine and putting it in his nostril. Doses himself with dietary supplements and just to be sure, thumps his chest seven or nine times. ‘Alternative med- icine’ some ten years before it became fashionable, practised by a man who has several honorary doctorates in medicine and is among the company of the great physicists. Even before he had completed his doctorate at the age of 25, electrical engineering companies were lining up to headhunt him. Philips, AEG, Siemens, Brown Boveri or ASEA—he has either worked there himself or has good friends who are senior fgures in one company or another. Ever since his student days, he has been almost married to his job. But he reads a bed- time story and says the evening prayer with his children every evening. On Sundays he dons knee breeches, packs a thermos and a lunch pack and goes vii viii Preface walking with his family, carrying a framed Bergans rucksack, Norwegian 1950’s style. Te proper gear, no nonsense, and speaking Norwegian. Tat is when we are Norwegian! Or he takes the car and the old, worn picnic basket with the plastic plates, the cutlery fastened inside the lid with leather straps and a methylated spirit stove to heat the sausages. When the nephews visit during the school holidays he generously takes them along too, even though they think he is a miser. Te meal service doesn’t exactly match their expecta- tions of what a famous uncle overseas can ofer, but he is a bit odd, exciting to be with, a perfect uncle. Formative experience on the ski trails in the Nordmarka forest north of Oslo has grown into a love of the Alps. His three children, one after another, have to be taught the European style of downhill ski-ing. But frst they have to climb up, preferably alongside the line of the ski-lift. Or he takes them to a chateau in France on a visit to the director of Martell, who apparently is one of his father’s business contacts. Or at Easter to a big family gathering at a friend’s cabin in the Norwegian mountains. Or to a summer gathering at the family’s country house by the Oslo Fjord. High and low. Hut and coun- try house. Never dull. Variety in abundance. He became a father again at the age of 70. He registered over 200 patents, in various countries. He has medals and honours from all around. He has a research prize named after him. Plays tennis. Ice bathes in his own pool. Swims every morning. Lectures every week, at a prestigious technical school in Zurich. Is brought in as a consultant on major international projects. Manufactures equipment for treating cancer. Tat is to say, that’s what he really does. Either he has deceived the Germans during the war, or they have deceived him. Or perhaps they have deceived each other, or us. Who knows? But he doesn’t talk about that. Rolf Widerøe is no ordinary man. Just by being himself, he has a pres- ence, an aura. All who know him become excited when they speak of him: family members, colleagues, others. A mixture of the socially awkward, almost psychopathic, always-far-away-in-his-own-thoughts nerd and the sensitive, warm, playful person, reliable and responsible. Some say he is single-minded and thinks only about his research. But he is sociable, eccen- tric, excitable, naïve. We could always turn to him when we had a problem. He was close. He was distant. He saw us. He didn’t see us. It all hangs together, but doesn’t fully make sense. Not all at once. Or maybe it does. He was so many. You name it. It depends on having eyes to see it. You need to have an eye for nuances, see things from several perspec- tives, and not try to see everything all at once. Preface ix I would like you to meet this person, and I am almost certain you have not heard of him before. But I am almost as certain that having met him, you will wonder why he isn’t better known. But frst let me tell you a story of three people. The Zarephath Widow’s Cruse Once upon a time there were three men from diferent countries who hap- pened to meet one and the same person, each in his own time and place. None of them knew each other. Te only things they had in common were that they had once studied physics and that they had met a man who made a strong impression on them. Te frst wrote a book about him. Te second tried to restore his reputation.