Virtual tours: Experience the HZB in 360 degrees!
Unfortunately, due to Corona, we are currently unable to receive groups of visitors at HZB and guide them through our centre. Despite Corona, we would like to provide you with insights into HZB. Simply follow our 360-degree tours and experience how we conduct research at the BESSY II accelerator. Further tours are being planned.
"Make yourself comfortable and start your own virtual tour through our world of research! We invite you to move through the 360-degree worlds and pause at one station or another to discover something new," says Sandra Fischer from the Communications Department. She designed and realised the tours together with an external partner.
The first tour is through the BESSY II accelerator facility. Further tours, also at the Wannsee site, are being planned. "With this offer, we want to remain open to interested people even in times of a pandemic and arouse curiosity about the world of science."
Tour through the BESSY II accelerator: Follow the path of light
Have you always wanted to walk through an accelerator? The tours "The Path of Light" and "The Experiment" both start in the heart of BESSY II, the control room. Go to the place where electrons race through and emit light at almost the speed of light - the storage ring tunnel. There you will see the effort that has to be made to generate the coveted light. You can experience all the things we can explore with this light in the tour "The Experiment".
Here you get to the tour. We hope you enjoy it!
Note for our cooperation partners at BESSY II:
360-degree views ("spherical panoramas") of various beamlines are available in the media library. You are welcome to use these to explain your work at BESSY II (e.g. in lectures or for groups of visitors). If you have any questions, please contact Sandra Fischer.
- BESSY II is back in operation after maintenance shutdownOn 7 September 2026, BESSY II was set into operation after a four-week shutdown. BESSY II is scheduled to resume full user operation on 22 September.
- 3D magnetic field experiment at BESSY II takes spintronics a step further(Fe0.63Ni0.3Pd0.07)3P or FNPP is a magnetic material that exhibits complex magnetic structures even at room temperature. This makes the material of interest for spintronics, a field that could enable data processing with significantly lower energy consumption. One potential application is novel magnetic memory devices. However, generating and modifying the desired structures in a controlled manner remains a challenge to date. A new study led by HZB has now taken a step forward in this regard. They demonstrated at the worldwide unique VEKMAG-Station at BESSY II, that a tiny external B-field in the plane of the magnetic patterns is sufficient to change them.
- Confirmed figures for the first time: Investments in BESSY are worthwhile for Berlin and GermanyAn impact analysis by DIW Econ demonstrates the scientific and economic value of BESSY II. Every euro invested yields three euros for Germany and as much as ten euros for the State of Berlin. Furthermore, the study provides an economic forecast for the construction of BESSY III.
The impact analysis was presented on 3 September 2026 to Dr Henry Marx, State Secretary for Science and Research in the Berlin Senate. He supports the investment and is a strong advocate for BESSY III.