Hailing from a modest background, Mayer volunteered for service in WWI where he was severely wounded on his 19th birthday. He subsequently studied mathematics, physics and astronomy at the University of Karlsruhe and the University of Heidelberg. In 1920, he attained a doctorate "on the behaviour of molecules in relation to free slow electrons". His professor was Nobel Prize winner Philipp Lenard. In 1922 he joined the Berlin laboratory of Siemens & Halske AG. From 1926 he co-operated with Karl Küpfmüller. Both scientists concerned themselves with interference-free information transfer in long distance circuits, important in developing telecommunications. In 1936 Mayer became the Director of the Siemens Research Laboratory in Berlin.
In 1943 he was arrested for political reasons (listening to the BBC, and criticism of the Nazi regime), although the Nazis never knew of the existence of the Oslo Report. He was saved from execution by the intervention of his doctoral supervisor Lenard, ironically an ardent Nazi supporter. He was first interned in Dachau, then in four other concentration camps until the end of the war. Johannes Plendl also played a role in his survival in the camps, by appointing Mayer to head a radio laboratory, although Mayer had no experience in radio.
After WWII Mayer, along with other German scientists, went to the USA as part of Operation Paperclip. Initially he worked in the U.S. Air Force’s primary research laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. In 1947 he moved to Cornell University, as a Professor of Electrical Engineering. In 1950 he returned to Germany, where he was head of the Siemens & Halske research department for communications technology in Munich until 1962.
Oslo Report
Hans Ferdinand Mayer was the author of the Oslo Report, one of the most serious breaches of German security in World War II. He signed it as "a German scientist, who is on your side", before sending it to the British Embassy in Oslo, Norway, in early November 1939. In his position at Siemens he had access to a wide range of information regarding the development and application of electronics in current and future weapons systems and radar.
The breadth (and uneven quality) of information in his Report led to initial scepticism amongst the British intelligence community about its veracity, but the technical detail of the information concerning electronics caught the attention of Dr. R.V. Jones, a brilliant young scientist who had recently been appointed to the Air Ministry. Jones, who was highly regarded by Churchill and eventually rose to the position of Assistant Director of Intelligence (Science), found the Oslo Report extremely useful in anticipating and countering the deployment of new German radar systems, and the radio beam systems used to guide German bombers to their targets.
The existence of the Oslo Report became more widely known through a talk given by Jones in 1947, although he did not become aware of its author's identity until late 1953, finally confirming it by meeting Mayer in 1955. Jones agreed to keep Mayer's identity secret, to avoid possible retribution against Mayer and his family.
Mayer did not tell his own family until 1977 that he had written the Oslo Report. His will was written so that his authorship of the Report would only be published after the death of himself and his wife. Jones respected Mayer's wishes, not revealing his identity until 1989.
Works
In November 1926, Mayer published an article (H. F. Mayer. "On the equivalent-circuit scheme of the amplifier tube". Telegraph and Telephony, 15:335-337, 1926) which describes the transformation of spare voltage supplies after equivalent current sources. It is an extension of Thévenin's theorem stating that any collection of voltage sources and resistors with two terminals is electrically equivalent to an ideal current source. Edward Lawry Norton likewise described this in 1926 in an internal report for Bell Labs.
The theorem is well-known under the name Norton's theorem or Mayer-Norton theorem. Hans Ferdinand Mayer published some 25 technical articles and held more than 80 patents.
Honours
Honorary doctorate at the Technical University of Stuttgart (1956)
Gauss-Weber-Medaille from the University of Goettingen
Don H. Johnson: Scanning Our Past - Origins OF the Equivalent Circuit Concept: The Current SOURCE Equivalent , 2002 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOLUME. 91, NO. 5, MAY 2003
Jones, R. V., 1989, Reflections on Intelligence, London: Heinemann.
External links
accessed 3 May 2010
Updated version of Sterrenburg's analysis of the Oslo Report with biographical details of Mayer accessed 4 May 2010
January 30, 2023
hans, ferdinand, mayer, born, october, 1895, pforzheim, germany, died, october, 1980, munich, west, germany, german, mathematician, physicist, author, oslo, report, major, military, intelligence, leak, which, revealed, german, technological, secrets, british, . Hans Ferdinand Mayer born 23 October 1895 in Pforzheim Germany died 18 October 1980 in Munich West Germany was a German mathematician and physicist He was the author of the Oslo Report a major military intelligence leak which revealed German technological secrets to the British Government shortly after the start of World War II Hans Ferdinand MayerBorn 1895 10 23 23 October 1895Pforzheim Baden GermanyDied18 October 1980 1980 10 18 aged 84 Munich Bavaria West GermanyNationalityGermanAlma materUniversity of HeidelbergOccupationsMathematicianPhysicistYears active1920 62EmployerSiemens amp Halske 1922 43 1950 62 Known forWriting the Oslo Report Contents 1 Biography 2 Oslo Report 3 Works 4 Honours 5 Sources 6 External linksBiography EditHailing from a modest background Mayer volunteered for service in WWI where he was severely wounded on his 19th birthday He subsequently studied mathematics physics and astronomy at the University of Karlsruhe and the University of Heidelberg In 1920 he attained a doctorate on the behaviour of molecules in relation to free slow electrons His professor was Nobel Prize winner Philipp Lenard In 1922 he joined the Berlin laboratory of Siemens amp Halske AG From 1926 he co operated with Karl Kupfmuller Both scientists concerned themselves with interference free information transfer in long distance circuits important in developing telecommunications In 1936 Mayer became the Director of the Siemens Research Laboratory in Berlin In 1943 he was arrested for political reasons listening to the BBC and criticism of the Nazi regime although the Nazis never knew of the existence of the Oslo Report He was saved from execution by the intervention of his doctoral supervisor Lenard ironically an ardent Nazi supporter He was first interned in Dachau then in four other concentration camps until the end of the war Johannes Plendl also played a role in his survival in the camps by appointing Mayer to head a radio laboratory although Mayer had no experience in radio After WWII Mayer along with other German scientists went to the USA as part of Operation Paperclip Initially he worked in the U S Air Force s primary research laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Dayton Ohio In 1947 he moved to Cornell University as a Professor of Electrical Engineering In 1950 he returned to Germany where he was head of the Siemens amp Halske research department for communications technology in Munich until 1962 Oslo Report EditHans Ferdinand Mayer was the author of the Oslo Report one of the most serious breaches of German security in World War II He signed it as a German scientist who is on your side before sending it to the British Embassy in Oslo Norway in early November 1939 In his position at Siemens he had access to a wide range of information regarding the development and application of electronics in current and future weapons systems and radar The breadth and uneven quality of information in his Report led to initial scepticism amongst the British intelligence community about its veracity but the technical detail of the information concerning electronics caught the attention of Dr R V Jones a brilliant young scientist who had recently been appointed to the Air Ministry Jones who was highly regarded by Churchill and eventually rose to the position of Assistant Director of Intelligence Science found the Oslo Report extremely useful in anticipating and countering the deployment of new German radar systems and the radio beam systems used to guide German bombers to their targets The existence of the Oslo Report became more widely known through a talk given by Jones in 1947 although he did not become aware of its author s identity until late 1953 finally confirming it by meeting Mayer in 1955 Jones agreed to keep Mayer s identity secret to avoid possible retribution against Mayer and his family Mayer did not tell his own family until 1977 that he had written the Oslo Report His will was written so that his authorship of the Report would only be published after the death of himself and his wife Jones respected Mayer s wishes not revealing his identity until 1989 Works EditIn November 1926 Mayer published an article H F Mayer On the equivalent circuit scheme of the amplifier tube Telegraph and Telephony 15 335 337 1926 which describes the transformation of spare voltage supplies after equivalent current sources It is an extension of Thevenin s theorem stating that any collection of voltage sources and resistors with two terminals is electrically equivalent to an ideal current source Edward Lawry Norton likewise described this in 1926 in an internal report for Bell Labs The theorem is well known under the name Norton s theorem or Mayer Norton theorem Hans Ferdinand Mayer published some 25 technical articles and held more than 80 patents Honours EditHonorary doctorate at the Technical University of Stuttgart 1956 Gauss Weber Medaille from the University of Goettingen Philipp Reis Preis from Deutsche Post 1961 Ehrenring from the VDE 1968 Sources EditDon H Johnson Scanning Our Past Origins OF the Equivalent Circuit Concept The Current SOURCE Equivalent 2002 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE VOLUME 91 NO 5 MAY 2003 Jones R V 1989 Reflections on Intelligence London Heinemann External links EditSiemens Communications Technology Hans Ferdinand Mayer 1895 1980 accessed 3 May 2010 Updated version of Sterrenburg s analysis of the Oslo Report with biographical details of Mayer accessed 4 May 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hans Ferdinand Mayer amp oldid 1108935832, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
