Archive
Proton size puzzle reinforced!
An international team of scientists confirmed the surprisingly small value of the proton radius with laser spectroscopy of exotic hydrogen. The experiments were carried out at PSI which is the only research institute in the world providing the necessary amount of muons for the production of the exotic hydrogen atoms made up of a muon and a proton.
All fired up
In many European countries, gas and steam power plants (CCGT plants), also known as combined cycle power plants, are included as options for a safe energy supply. In the 2050 Federal Government Energy Strategy, they are mentioned as a possible replacement for the nuclear power plants that are being phased àout. Combined cycle power plants convert natural gas into electricity using a combination of gas and steam turbines, with very high efficiencies, of around 60 percent. Furthermore, since these power plants can be started up and shut down very quickly, they are ideally suited for compensating production fluctuations from wind and solar power plants. However, their CO2 emissions, whilst the lowest of all conventional power plants using fossil fuels, are still significant. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute are working on a solution for this within the framework of a European Union project.
Excitement that rivals a moon landing
Interview with Thomas HuthwelkerThe Paul Scherrer Institut makes its research facilities available to scientists from all over the world. To ensure these scientists are exposed to optimal conditions when they arrive is the hard work of many PSI staff. An interview with one of these scientists provides a glimpse behind the scenes. This interview is taken from the latest issue of the PSI Magazine Fenster zur Forschung
The advantages of SwissFEL: Why X-rays?
SwissFEL will generate very short pulses of intense X-ray light with laser-like properties, and will therefore provide new insights into a wide variety of materials. The properties of this special "SwissFEL light" will broaden the scope of experiments that can be carried out at this facility.
The sun rises for cement
Cement holds the world’s buildings together. The binding agent for concrete and other construction materials is, if assessed by global production volumes, one of the world’s most important assets. However, cement production consumes vast amounts of energy à and this is largely obtained by the combustion of fossil fuels. Scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute and the globally-active Swiss cement manufacturer Holcim want to change this.
Watching substances convert
Experiments at SwissFEL will help us understand in detail how one substance is transformed into another during a chemical reaction. Highest priority will be given to catalytic reactions, as these have numerous industrial applications. This research will point the way towards more energy-efficient industrial processes and environmentally-friendly energy carriers.
The weak side of the proton
An international research team has determined with a high level of accuracy, how the proton participates in the weak interaction à one of the fundamental forces of nature. Their results confirm the predictions of the Standard Model of particle physics. The experiment observed the probability of muon capture by protons à a process governed by the weak interaction. The experiment was conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute, the only institute in the world with an accelerator capable of generating enough muons for carrying out this project in a realistic timeframe.
How stabilised cell fibres prevent cancer cell division
Anti-cancer drugs are used under the heading of Chemotherapeutics to prevent cells from dividing. Because the cells in a growing tumour divide more frequently than others, tumour cells are damaged more severely. Scientists at the Paul Scherrer Institute and the ETH Zurich have now clarified the exact mechanism of action of one class of these drugs. The data acquired is so accurate, that targeted drugs could now be developed that are even better suited to fulfil their task.
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.
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
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.
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.