School/University

am 18. Juni können in Berlin Schülerinnen und Schüler tief in die Welt der Wissenschaft eintauchen. Gefördert durch die Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie organisiert die Einstein-Stiftung zusammen mit der Agentur „Helliwood media & education“ einen sehr speziellen Aktionstag mit sieben hybriden Workshops verteilt über mehrere Wissenschaftseinrichtungen. Das übergeordnete Motto des Aktionstages: „Einstein macht Schule“. 

In der Führungsebene der Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt (PTB) steht ein wichtiger Personalwechsel an. Ab 1. Mai des kommenden Jahres wird die Physikerin Prof. Dr. Cornelia Denz von der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster die PTB leiten. Der derzeitige PTB-Präsident, Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Joachim Ullrich, der die Präsidentschaft seit dem Jahr 2012 innehat, scheidet dann altersbedingt aus. In der 135-jährigen Geschichte der PTB wird Cornelia Denz die erste Frau an der Spitze des nationalen Metrologieinstituts Deutschlands sein. Sie erhielt ihre Berufung in dieses höchste Amt der nationalen Metrologie vom Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi), Peter Altmaier, in desse Ressort die PTB angesiedelt ist. Das Ministerium folgt mit dieser Berufung dem einstimmigen Vorschlag einer mit Vertreterinnen und Vertretern aus Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft prominent besetzten Findungskommission.

“Your temperature is 102 degrees – that’s a fever!” “Excuse me?” You could experience a confusing conversation like this if you feel ill during your vacation in the U.S. and need to see a doctor. Temperatures are measured in Fahrenheit in the U.S.; 102 degrees Fahrenheit are equivalent to 38.9 degrees Celsius. This type of confusion (or even serious misunderstandings!) occurs very rarely – at least when measurement units are used in science. We can thank a historical event which is commemorated on 20 May each year on World Metrology Day for this: the establishment of the Metre Convention. This contract was signed in 1875 by the most important industrial nations of that era. Since that date, almost all other countries in the world have followed suit and pledged to use only metric units. The U.S. and a few other countries represent a minority which still uses Anglo-Saxon units – but only in daily life. The metric system and the...

It is about fundamental questions of modern fundamental physics: Is our description of nature complete? What is dark matter? Do natural constants change with time or place? Theoretical predictions attest optical clocks based on highly charged ions a 20-fold sensitivity to these effects compared to previous clocks. With a concept for the first-time realization of such special clocks, in which the highly charged ions are controlled by quantum techniques and measured by laser spectroscopy, Prof. Dr. Piet O. Schmidt (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt and Leibniz Universität Hannover) has now obtained one of the most prestigious research grants: an ERC Advanced Grant. With this, the European Research Council (ERC) is providing almost 2.5 million euros for a five-year project. Schmidt's goal: to achieve at least a 10-fold improvement in the limits for new forces and changes in natural constants and also to address important questions in...

Am 22. April haben Schülerinnen und Schüler die Möglichkeit, einen Blick hinter die Kulissen der PTB zu werfen.

The brain processes information using both slow and fast currents. Until now, researchers had to use electrodes placed inside the brain in order to measure the latter. For the first time, researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Berlin Institute, successfully visualized these fast brain signals from the outside – and found a surprising degree of variability. According to their article in PNAS*, the researchers used a particularly sensitive magnetoencephalography device to accomplish this feat.

The new “Quantum Valley Lower Saxony” research alliance has set itself the goal of developing a quantum computer within a period of five years. The German federal state of Lower Saxony and the Volkswagen Foundation are providing 25 million euros of funding for this alliance, which pools excellent research projects and research capabilities in Lower Saxony. This initiative aims to exploit the partners’ potentials for taking a leap in development towards a quantum computer based on ion trap technology.

At the new Collaborative Research Center “TerraQ – Relativistic and Quantum-Based Geodesy” which is initially being funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with 9.6 million euros until 2024, about 60 scientists from the fields of geodesy and physics are developing fundamentally new measurement technology, sensors and analysis methods for measurements in space and on Earth.

The Federal State of Lower Saxony, together with universities and research institutes in Lower Saxony, aims to develop a quantum computer in Germany by 2025.

Photodiodes for the ultraviolet (UV) spectral range are used in a large number of applications such as spectroscopy, imaging, flame detection, water treatment and biotechnologies. So far, loss processes have considerably limited their responsivity. A novel photodiode allowed the quantum efficiency to increase from roughly 80 % to more than 130 %.