The Legacy
His invention made it cheaper to build nuclear reactors, and nuclear weapons, which increased the risk of nuclear proliferation. When asked if he has any regrets, he responds, "With a kitchen knife you can peel a potato or kill your neighbor, it's up to governments to use the centrifuge for the benefit of mankind."
It was an American Engineer, John P Feltman,whose research in composite materials led to his invention of a composite high speed centrifuge rotor (1966),http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3248046.pdf, Feltman's theories were those upon which the Zippe rotor was developed. Feltman sold this patent to Vernitron Corp.in 1971 to help his friend William Piemonte, who financed Feltman's patent application. Feltman's patent was predicated on the concept that it was Strength/weight ratios that would make it possible to produce composite material rotors that would allow centrifuge rotors to be rotated at much higher RPM.
Read more about this topic: Gernot Zippe
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)