Josef Papp

Who was Josef Papp?

Josef Papp was an engineer who was awarded U.S. patents related to the development of an engine, and also claimed to have invented a jet submarine.

Papp was issued several U.S. patents for these inventions, including his noble gas fuel mixture.

The engine continues to be considered by many scientists as a hoax. Papp's poor physics theoretic background is demonstrated in the abstracts of the patents which have been criticized by Richard Feynman. Papp presented to an audience, including Feynman, an ill-fated demonstration in 1966, in which his engine exploded, killing one man and seriously injuring two others. Feynman's conclusion was that Papp was a fraudster and the explosion an attempt by Papp to avoid discovery, although he notes that Caltech settled with Papp out of court.

However, recently, Russ Gries, a private researcher who works for the company RWG Research, claims to have replicated the principles of the Papp noble gas engine with positive results.