Henry Herbert Kolm (September 9, 1924 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
– July 29, 2010 in
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...
) was an American
physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
associated with
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT) for many years, with extensive expertise in high-power magnets and strong magnetic fields.
Senior Scientist at MIT
Henry Kolm was a long-time associate of the
Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory. As such, his goal was the creation and application of high
magnetic fields. He has also worked on
magnetic levitation
Magnetic levitation (maglev) or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is suspended with no support other than magnetic fields. Magnetic force is used to counteract the effects of the gravitational force and any other forces.
The ...
for transit applications and on various electromagnetic space launch concepts including the MIT
Mass Driver 1 (1976–77), continuing into the 1980s.
Over the years, he worked with
Francis Bitter,
Gerard K. O'Neill, and
Eric Drexler
Kim Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is an American engineer best known for studies of the potential of molecular nanotechnology (MNT), from the 1970s and 1980s. His 1991 doctoral thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was revised and ...
, among others.
Comment regarding interrogation methods
In an
op-ed column,
Frank Rich
Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO.
Rich is curren ...
quoted Kolm as saying, "We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture", in recounting his experience interrogating Colonel Rudolf Hess, Hitler's personal military advisor (not to be confused with
Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy
[Personal communication, to WWheaton from H. Kolm. Also corrected age to 83 from 90 quoted by Rich. 24 Oct 2007]) over a chessboard.
See also
*
Railgun
A railgun or rail gun is a linear motor device, typically designed as a weapon, that uses electromagnetic force to launch high velocity projectiles. The projectile normally does not contain explosives, instead relying on the projectile's high ...
*
Coil gun
*
Mass Driver 1
*
Helical railgun Helical railguns are multi-turn railguns that reduce rail and brush current by a factor equal to the number of turns. Two rails are surrounded by a helical barrel and the projectile or re-usable carrier is cylindrical. The projectile is energized co ...
*
Maglev train
*
Piezoelectricity
Piezoelectricity (, ) is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials—such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA, and various proteins—in response to applied mechanical stress. The word ''p ...
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Personal WebsiteMagplane Technology, Inc., one of his later ventures.
Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory website
American physicists
1924 births
2010 deaths
Massachusetts Institute of Technology people
{{US-physicist-stub