The world consists of quanta, the smallest building blocks of light and energy, which are subject to their own physical laws and principles. Modern technologies such as solar cells or computer chips would not be possible without quantum mechanics, first formulated in 1925 by German Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg.
In his lecture on June 24, Professor Siegfried Stapf, Head of the Polymer Physics Group at TU Ilmenau, explains that the question: What is spin? unfortunately cannot be answered with a picture, a photo - although many have tried to do so. Spin is a number, an operator, a property - something very abstract that only quantum mechanics seems to need and that only quantum mechanics can explain. However, if you look at the magnetic moment of a real particle, an electron, proton or neutron, you can see a tiny compass needle that can be measured and used for a variety of purposes. As a so-called nuclear spin, it is used in chemical spectroscopy or medical diagnostics and by scientists above all to determine the movements of molecules from the atomic to the visible scale.
Scientists from TU Ilmenau will be presenting current research and fascinating applications from the world of quantum physics in six lectures until July. The lecture series "Quantum in Ilmenau" organized by the TU Ilmenau and the Association of Friends and Sponsors of Natural Sciences in Ilmenau is one of the numerous worldwide activities in the United Nations’ "International Year of Quantum Science and Quantum Technologies". The aim of the Quantum Year is to make the findings of quantum physics and their profound impact on our lives more visible - not only to experts, but also to the general public. After all, what began as an abstract theory 100 years ago is now the foundation of numerous technologies and applications that have a lasting impact on our economy and our everyday lives.
Dr. Wichard Beenken
Chairman of the Friends and Sponsors of Natural Sciences in Ilmenau e. V.+49 3677 69-3258
wichard.beenken@tu-ilmenau.de
