Archive
Neutrons and synchrotron light help unlock Bronze Age techniques
Experiments conducted at the PSI have made it possible to determine how a unique Bronze Age axe was made. This was thanks to the process of neutron imaging, which can be used to generate an accurate three-dimensional image of an object’s interior. For the last decade, the PSI has been collaborating with various museums and archaeological institutions both in Switzerland and abroad. The fact that the 18th International Congress on Ancient Bronzes, which is to be held at the University of Zurich from 3 à 7 September, will also be meeting at the PSI for one day is a testament to the success of the cooperation.
Reconstruction of the Fukushima nuclear accident
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) are currently involved in an international project aimed at reconstructing what happened to the reactor units during the nuclear accident at the Japanese nuclear power station, Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011. In particular, the estimate of the core end-state will help the owner of the damaged plant, the Tokyo Electricity Power Company (TEPCO) to plan the removal of components from the reactor containment and the final decontamination. Besides, the exercise is intended to contribute to further refinement of the computer programs used to perform nuclear accident simulations
Kanton und Paul Scherrer Institut stellen PARK innovAARE vor
Hightech-Zone in Villigen als idealer Netzwerkstandort für schweizerischen InnovationsparkDer Kanton Aargau und das Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) stellen das Konzept PARK innovAARE für einen Netzwerkstandort des schweizerischen Innovationsparks vor. Die unmittelbare Nähe zum PSI mit seinen Grossforschungsanlagen macht das untere Aaretal zu einem idealen Standort, wo Spitzenforschung und unternehmerische Innovationstätigkeit sich beflügeln.This news release is only available in French and German.
The SwissFEL facility: the undulator section – where the light is produced
X-ray light is produced in SwissFEL when electrons accelerated in its linear accelerator are forced to follow a wavy path. This takes place within the undulators à regular arrangements of magnets that bend the electron beam. The whole undulator section will be 60 metres long.
Magnetisation controlled at picosecond intervals
A terahertz laser developed at the Paul Scherrer Institute makes it possible to control a material’s magnetisation precisely at a timescale of picoseconds. In their experiment, the researchers shone extremely short light pulses from the laser onto a magnetic material. The light pulse’s magnetic field was able to deflect the magnetic moments from their idle state in such a way that they exactly followed the change of the laser’s magnetic field with only a minor delay. The terahertz laser used in the experiment is one of the strongest of its kind in the world.
Five times less platinum: fuel cells could become economically more attractive thanks to novel aerogel catalyst.
Fuel cells that convert hydrogen into power and only produce pure water as a by-product have the potential to lead individual mobility into an environmentally friendly future. The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) has been researching and developing such low-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells for more than 10 years and initial field tests have already demonstrated the successful use of these fuel cells in cars and buses. However, further research is still required to improve the durability and economic viability of the technology. An international team of researchers involving the PSI has now manufactured and characterised a novel nanomaterial that could vastly increase the efficiency and shelf-life of these fuel cells à as well as reduce material costs.