Wolfgang Gaede
| Wolfgang Gaede | |
|---|---|
| Born |
25 May 1878 Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany |
| Died | 24 June 1945 (aged 67) Munich, Bavaria, Germany |
| Fields | Vacuum engineering |
| Institutions | University of Freiburg, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Diffusion pump |
| Notable awards | Elliott Cresson Medal, Duddell Medal and Prize |
Wolfgang Max Paul Gaede (25 May 1878 – 24 June 1945) was a German physicist and pioneer of vacuum engineering.
Gaede was born in Lehe, Bremerhaven, the son of Prussian Colonel Karl Gaede and Amalia, nee Renf. In 1897 he began studying medicine at the University of Freiburg, but he soon switched to the field of physics. In 1901 he wrote his doctoral thesis on the change of the specific heat of metals with temperature. Subsequent research on the Volta effect in a vacuum was unsuccessful, as the pump technology of the time could not create sufficient vacuum for the investigations. This prompted Gaede to deal more closely with vacuum technology. He invented the rotating mercury pump for high vacuum, which he presented to his scientific colleagues in 1905 at a congress in Merano. Also in Freiburg im Breisgau, Gaede wrote his habilitation thesis on The external friction of gases in 1909.
In 1913 he received a professorship at the University of Freiburg. In the following six years, he invented the momentum transfer pump (molecular pump) and a mercury diffusion pump. In 1919, Gaede joined the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology as a professor of experimental physics, where he worked in the following research areas:
In 1930, Gaede was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. In 1933/34 two employees denounced Gaede to the Gestapo, as having called the National Socialists "childish". He then had to retire, although all allegations proved to be false. Despite this incident, the Werner von Siemens Ring for 1933 was given to him in 1934. He also received various awards at international level in the following years.
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