Archive
Die neue Schweizer Energiepolitik: Woher kommt der Strom?
Der neue Energie-Spiegel ist da.Mit der neuen Energiepolitik kommen grosse Veränderungen auf die Schweizer Stromversorgung zu. Werden erneuerbare Energiequellen genug Strom produzieren, um nach dem Aus der Kernkraftwerke unseren Verbrauch zu decken? Oder müssen wir uns in Zukunft auf Gaskraftwerke und Stromimporte verlassen? Und wie wirkt sich die neue Energiepolitik auf die CO2-Bilanz und die Stromkosten aus? Diese Fragen versucht die neueste Ausgabe des Energie-Spiegels zu beantworten.This news release is only available in German.
The evolutionary origins of our pretty smile
Until recently, it was not obvious whether the earliest vertebrates (animals with a backbone) which had jawbones already possessed teeth or not. Now, an international research team has shown that the jaws of the prehistoric fish Compagopiscis already had teeth. This means that teeth appeared at the same evolutionary time as jaws à or at least shortly afterwards. The leaders of this project were scientists from the University of Bristol, England, who carried out their decisive experiments at the SLS at PSI.
X-rays provide insights into volcanic processes
Experiments performed at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) investigate processes inside volcanic materials that determine whether a volcano will erupt violently or mildly. In the experiments, scientists heated small pieces of volcanic material similarly to conditions present at the beginning of a volcanic eruption. They used X-rays from the SLS to observe, in real time, what happens to the rock as it goes from the solid to the molten state.
Nobelpreiswürdig: G-Protein-gekoppelte Rezeptoren
Der Nobelpreis für Chemie geht in diesem Jahr an Robert J. Lefkowitz und Brian K. Kobilka. Sie haben herausgefunden, wie eine Familie von Rezeptoren funktioniert, die man G-Protein-gekoppelte Rezeptoren (GPCR) nennt. Auch am PSI leisten Wissenschaftler Beiträge auf diesem Forschungsgebiet.This news release is only available in German.
Silicon – Close to the Breaking Point
Stretching a layer of silicon can lead to internal mechanical strain which can considerably improve the electronic properties of the material. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute and the ETH Zurich have created a new process from a layer of silicon to fabricate extremely highly strained nanowires in a silicon substrate. The researchers report the highest-ever mechanical stress obtained in a material that can serve as the basis for electronic components. The long term goal aim is to produce high-performance and low-power transistors for microprocessors based on such wires.
Built-in Germanium Lasers could make Computer Chips faster
Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) researchers have investigated the mechanisms necessary for enabling the semiconductor Germanium to emit laser light. As a laser material, Germanium together with Silicon could form the basis for innovative computer chips in which information would be transferred partially in the form of light. This technology would revolutionise data streaming within chips and give a boost to the performance of electronics.
New Insights into Superconducting Materials
A new X-ray technique provides insights into the magnetic properties of atomically thin layers of a parent compound of a high-temperature superconductor. It turns out that the magnetic properties of material films which are only a few atoms thick differ by only a surprisingly small degree from those of macroscopically thick samples. In the future, this method can be used to study the processes occurring in very thin layers of superconductors and help us to understand this intriguing phenomenon.
Erschliessungsarbeiten für den SwissFEL starten
Am 3. September 2012 starten die Erschliessungsarbeiten zur neuen Grossforschungsanlage SwissFEL des Paul Scherrer Instituts. Mit ihnen wird die für den SwissFEL notwendige Anbindung an die vorhandene PSI-Infrastruktur hergestellt.This news release is only available in German.
Distribution of soot particles in particulate filters of diesel vehicles seen for the first time
Diesel motor vehicles have to be equipped with soot particulate filters, so the harmful soot and ash cannot get into the environment. Whilst these operate according to appropriate standards, up until now, the details about the distribution of soot and ash inside these filters has been unknown. Now, thanks to the special examination techniques of the Paul Scherrer Institute [PSI], the actual filter loads have been seen for the first time.
Ultra-short X-ray laser pulses precisely surveyed for the first time
X-ray lasers are modern light sources from which scientists expect to obtain new knowledge about the structure and function of materials at the atomic level. The scientific value of an X-ray laser stands or falls on the quality of the ultra-short X-ray pulses it produces and which researchers use to illuminate their samples. An international team led by scientists from the Paul Scherer Institute, PSI, has now precisely measured these pulses
Observation of a New Particle with a Mass of 125 GeV
In a joint seminar today at CERN and the ICHEP 2012 conference in Melbourne, researchers of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) presented their preliminary results on the search for the standard model (SM) Higgs boson in their data recorded up to June 2012.
Controversy clarified: Why two insulators together can transport electricity
How can two materials which do not conduct electricity create an electrically conducting layer when they are joined together? Since this effect was discovered in 2004, researchers have developed various hypotheses to answer this question. Now, an international team under the leadership of researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute has probably settled the controversy.
Top Science at the Top of Europe
Das PSI ist in der Jubiläumsausstellung auf dem Jungfraujoch prominent vertreten75 Jahre Sphinx-Observatoirum und 100 Jahre Jungfraubahnen: Dies ist der Anlass für eine Ausstellung der internationalen Stiftung Hochalpine Forschungsstationen Jungfraujoch und Gornergrat, die im Frühjahr eröffnet wurde.This news release is only available in German.
Baugespanne im Würenlinger Wald
Wer in den nächsten Monaten über den Oberen Priorhölzliweg spazierengeht und aufmerksam in den Wald späht, der kann sie entdecken: Das PSI reicht in der zweiten Juniwoche bei der Gemeinde Würenlingen offiziell das Baugesuch für seine neue Grossforschungsanlage SwissFEL ein und hat dafür - wie es für alle Baugesuche üblich ist à auch das zugehörige Baugespann aufstellen lassen.This news release is only available in German.
Baugesuch zu Erschliessungsarbeiten für den SwissFEL eingereicht
Das Paul Scherrer Institut hat am 5. Juni 2012 bei der Gemeinde Würenlingen sein Baugesuch für die Erschliessungsarbeiten zur neuen Grossforschungsanlage SwissFEL eingereicht. Die Ausführung der Erschliessungsarbeiten ist für den Zeitraum August 2012 bis Januar 2013 geplant.This news release is only available in German.
Alzheimer plaques in 3D
Researchers have succeeded in generating detailed three-dimensional images of the spatial distribution of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. The new technique used in the investigations provides an extremely precise research tool for a better understanding of the disease. In the future, scientists hope that it will also provide the basis for a new and reliable diagnosis method. The results were achieved within a joint project of two research teams à one from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich, the other from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).
Reconstruction of atmospheric lead concentrations in Russia since 1680
A research team from the Paul Scherrer Institute has reconstructed the concentration record of lead in the atmosphere in Russia since 1680. The results demonstrate a significant increase in the atmospheric lead concentrations since the 1930s and a significant reduction since the 1970s.
Energiewende: Das Ganze sehen, die Details bedenken
Die Energiewende als politischer Wille ist Realität, aber wie wird die Schweiz ihre Energieversorgung aus dem heutigen Stand in diejenige überführen, die die für das Jahr 2050 formulierten Ziele erfüllt? Mit Fragen der Umsetzung, mit den Optionen und den Herausforderungen des beschlossenen Umbaus der schweizerischen Energielandschaft befasste sich am 14. Mai 2012 die Energietagung des Paul Scherrer Institut. Im Mittelpunkt stand der bei einer zunehmend dezentralen Energieversorgung notwendige Umbau der Stromnetze.This news release is only available in German.
Retention of radioactive iodine in serious NPP accidents
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute [PSI] have developed a highly efficient technique for filtering radioactive iodine. It removes virtually all of the iodine from radioactively contaminated exhaust air before its release into the environment after a meltdown at a damaged nuclear power plant. The process has recently become ready for worldwide use at nuclear power installations, after PSI and the industrial company CCI AG (Balterswil/TG) have signed a licensing agreement for the PSI patented process.
Physicists observe the splitting of an electron inside a solid
An electron has been observed to decay into two separate parts, each carrying a particular property of the electron: a spinon carrying its spin à the property making the electron behave as a tiny compass needle à and an orbiton carrying its orbital moment à which arises from the electron’s motion around the nucleus. These newly created particles, however, cannot leave the material in which they have been produced.