Unique X-ray experiments for school classes: The X-ray mobile will arrive at the HZB
© Deutsches Röntgen-Museum
There are also experiments on ultrasound. © Deutsches Röntgen-Museum
The HZB is part of the X-ray year 2020! It celebrates the discovery of X-rays 125 years ago with many interesting events and activities. © Röntgen-Kuratorium Würzburg e.V.
What is ultraviolet radiation? What are X-rays used for? And what is radioactivity again? These questions are on the curriculum in physics lessons, but vivid experiments on these topics are rare. From 5 to 13 March 2020, pupils can conduct experiments on these topics in the HZB's school laboratory in Berlin-Adlershof. The public is invited to attend on 12 March.
The year 2020 is the focus of a double anniversary on the topic of X-rays. Nationwide, the 125th Discovery Day of X-rays and the 175th birthday of their discoverer and first Nobel Prize winner in physics, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, will be celebrated. To mark this occasion, the German Röntgen Museum in Remscheid (DRM) and the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim (rem) have developed the project "X-perimente - Making the Invisible Visible". The project is made possible by the Klaus Tschira Foundation in Heidelberg.
In the next few months, the X-ray mobile will be touring all over Germany. "It offers interactive experiments that are not offered at schools or in student laboratories in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. That's why the workshops on offer really are a unique opportunity," says Dr. Ulrike Witte, a member of the HZB school laboratory staff. Based on the fascination of the X-ray process, the experiments provide an overview of various techniques that can be used to make the inside of things visible: from infrared light to short-wave gamma rays and ultrasound.
Venue: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, school laboratory, Magnusstraße 2, 12489 Berlin
Book workshops on the topics of X-rays and radiation
The campaign will take place from 5 to 13 March 2020 in the HZB school laboratory. Three workshops are offered per day (9 am, 11 am and 1 pm). They last 90 minutes and are free of charge. Booking is done by the teacher (max. 2 dates per school). The principle is: first come, first serve. Further information (GER) on the topics of the workshops can be found here.
Open for all: on 12 March from 3.30 to 5.30 pm
On 12 March 2020 the doors will be open to the public. You can experiment from 3.30 to 5.30 pm around the topics of X-rays, radioactivity and ultrasound.
The X-ray year 2020
The world of X-ray is full of surprising phenomena and fascinating images: This is what the X-ray year 2020 wants to draw attention to. On November 8, 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered a new type of radiation. Since then they have enabled revolutionary advances in medicine, technology and society worldwide. X-rays penetrate substances and make layers visible that are otherwise invisible to the human eye: They are indispensable tools for studying solar cells, catalysts, viruses, genomes, tumors, old writings, machine parts, objects of art, celestial bodies and much more. The electron storage ring BESSY II, which is operated by HZB in Adlershof, provides highly brilliant X-ray light. Every year, it enables more than 1500 materials researchers, chemists, physicians, biologists and art historians from all over the world to gain unique insights into their samples.
- MXene for energy storage: More versatile than expectedMXene materials are promising candidates for a new energy storage technology. However, the processes by which the charge storage takes place were not yet fully understood. A team at HZB has examined, for the first time, individual MXene flakes to explore these processes in detail. Using the in situ Scanning transmission X-ray microscope 'MYSTIIC' at BESSY II, the scientists mapped the chemical states of Titanium atoms on the MXene flake surfaces. The results revealed two distinct redox reactions, depending on the electrolyte. This lays the groundwork for understanding charge transfer processes at the nanoscale and provides a basis for future research aimed at optimising pseudocapacitive energy storage devices.
- Compact electron accelerator for treating PFAS-contaminated waterSo-called forever chemicals or PFAS compounds are a growing environmental problem. An innovative approach to treating PFAS-contaminated water and soil now comes from accelerator physics: high-energy electrons can break down PFAS molecules into harmless components through a process called radiolysis. A recent study published in PLOS One shows that an accelerator developed at HZB, based on a SRF photoinjector, can provide the necessary electron beam.
- Bright prospects for tin perovskite solar cellsPerovskite solar cells are widely regarded as the next generation photovoltaic technology. However, they are not yet stable enough in the long term for widespread commercial use. One reason for this is migrating ions, which cause degradation of the semiconducting material over time. A team from HZB and the University of Potsdam has now investigated the ion density in four different, widely used perovskite compounds and discovered significant differences. Tin perovskite semiconductors produced with an alternative solvent had a particular low ion density — only one tenth that of lead perovskite semiconductors. This suggests that tin-based perovskites could be used to make solar cells that are not only really environmentally friendly but also very stable.