engineering

Peter Madsen

Peter Madsen is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Peter Madsen rather than just read about it. In short: Peter Langkjær Madsen (Danish: [ˈpʰe̝ˀtɐ ˈlɑŋˌkʰeˀɐ̯ ˈmæsn̩]; born 12 January 1971) is a Danish convicted murderer and former entrepreneur. In April 2018, he was convicted of the August 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on board his submarine, UC3 Nautilus, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Key takeaways

Peter Madsen belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Peter Madsen to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Peter Madsen from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Peter Langkjær Madsen (Danish: [ˈpʰe̝ˀtɐ ˈlɑŋˌkʰeˀɐ̯ ˈmæsn̩]; born 12 January 1971) is a Danish convicted murderer and former entrepreneur. In April 2018, he was convicted of the August 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on board his submarine, UC3 Nautilus, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Biography Madsen was born on 12 January 1971 to Annie and Carl Madsen. He spent his early life in Sæby and Høng (both in Kalundborg Municipality), Denmark. Annie was more than 30 years younger than Carl and had three other sons from two previous men. Carl was allegedly abusive toward his three stepsons. Annie left when Peter was six, taking the children with her. After a couple of years, Madsen returned to his father, with whom he shared an interest in rockets. While attending primary and secondary school in Høng, Madsen developed an interest in rocket fuel with the help of chemistry and physics teacher Johannes Fischer. He developed his first large rocket at Høng and launched it on 3 March 1986. It was one meter tall, modelled after the American ICBM MX Peacekeeper and built in his father's workshop. It reached a height of 100 m (330 ft) before crashing to the ground. In 1987, Madsen was accepted at the gymnasium (upper secondary school) in the nearby town of Kalundborg. He moved to live in a youth house in the town. His father died in 1990 when Peter was 19. Madsen continued to experiment and to consult engineers, and became friendly with the family responsible for the fireworks in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens. He also joined the Dansk Amatør Raket Klub (DARK) rocket club in Copenhagen, but the other members gradually became disillusioned with him. DARK members claimed that "saying his name would start the fire sprinkler system". He never finished any formal education, but took courses in welding and engineering to learn something about submarines. His enthusiasm brought impressive results, but also caused conflicts with others. Madsen funded his lifestyle through financial support from people, organizations, and enterprises which saw promise in him.

Personal life Madsen was married at Copenhagen City Hall in November 2011. His wife had worked in the film industry and had also helped in Madsen's workshop at Refshaleøen, Copenhagen. In February 2018, it was reported that his wife had left him after he was charged with murder. Madsen said that he had lived in an "open relationship". His wife has chosen to remain anonymous and her identity has not been released by the media. According to a report from Wired magazine, Madsen was a regular at fetish parties. On 19 December 2019, Madsen married 39-year old Russian-Mauritian opposition activist Jenny Curpen. Curpen has had political asylum in Finland since 2013, because of her persecution in Russia. In a post on Facebook, Curpen said that she received death threats after her marriage was made public. According to a Facebook entry of Jenny Curpen, the couple divorced on 7 January 2022.

Projects

Submarines Madsen built three submarines: UC1 Freya, UC2 Kraka and UC3 Nautilus. The Nautilus was a privately built midget submarine, launched on 3 May 2008 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed over three years, it cost approximately US$200,000 to build (1.5 million DKK).

Copenhagen Suborbitals

On 1 May 2008, Madsen co-founded Copenhagen Suborbitals with Danish architect Kristian von Bengtson. In June 2014, he left the project. Madsen was responsible for the launch system, launchpad and booster rocket engines.

Rocket Madsen Space Lab

In June 2014, Madsen established RML Spacelab ApS. The goal was the development and construction of a crewed spacecraft. From 2016, RML was developing a nano satellite launch vehicle using venture investments. Under the title Raket-Madsens Rumlaboratorium (Danish for 'Rocket-Madsen's Space Laboratory'), Madsen blogged about his activities on the website of the Danish news magazine Ingeniøren.

Murder of Kim Wall and sinking of UC3 Nautilus

Murder On 11 August 2017, Madsen was arrested after the sinking of UC3 Nautilus and the disappearance of Kim Wall, a Swedish journalist who had last been seen alive aboard the submarine. The following day, a court ruled that he be held in pre-trial detention for 24 days on a charge of negligent homicide. Madsen initially claimed that he had dropped Wall off on land at the tip of Refshaleøen on the night before the sinking. He later changed his statement, saying that she had died on board in an accident, and that he had buried her at sea. According to the Danish police, the submarine was deliberately sunk, contradicting Madsen's explanation regarding a technical fault. A human torso washed up on the coast of Amager on 21 August, which DNA tests concluded belonged to Wall. Chief investigator Jens Møller reported that the torso had been stabbed multiple times to vent accumulating gases that could float it to the surface, and that a piece of metal had been fastened to it to ensure its sinking to the seabed. On 25 August, Madsen's charge was extended to improper handling of a corpse.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peter Madsen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peter Madsen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Peter Madsen before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Peter Madsen ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Peter Madsen

In research: Peter Madsen appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Peter Madsen in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Peter Madsen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1971 births, 21st-century Danish criminals, Aerospace engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peter Madsen outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Peter Madsen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Peter Madsen means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Peter Madsen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Peter Madsen in simple terms?

Why does Peter Madsen matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Peter Madsen?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Peter Madsen.