Fundamentals of Nature
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI are looking for answers to essential questions concerning the underlying structures of matter and the fundamental principles of nature. They study the composition and properties of elementary particles – the smallest building blocks of matter – or investigate the structure of biological molecules and how they perform their function. The knowledge gathered in this way opens up new approaches to finding solutions in science, medicine and technology.
Find out more at Overview Fundamentals of Nature
„IMPACT is very important in terms of international competition“
Daniela Kiselev talks about the upgrade planned at PSI's proton accelerator facility.
Repairing genetic damage with sunlight
An international research team at SwissFEL of PSI has discovered how an enzyme repairs DNA damage with the help of sunlight.
Immerse yourself in the cytoskeleton
The cytoskeleton is a little marvel. Probing it promises to reveal, among other things, new possibilities for cancer therapy.
“Molecular chains could be useful for the electronics of the future”
Christian Wäckerlin talks about fundamental research into novel nanowires and their potential applications.
Mystery of microgels solved
Researchers at PSI and the University of Barcelona can explain the strange shrinking of microgels experimentally.
An algorithm for sharper protein films
A newly developed algorithm allows measurements performed at X-ray free-electron lasers to be evaluated more efficiently.
Hunting for the radius of a proton
0.000 000 000 000 840 87 (39) metres – scientists working at PSI have come up with this astonishing figure for the radius of a proton.
“A jewel we must treasure”
HIMB is one of the two parts of the upgrade project IMPACT. Klaus Kirch speaks about the plans.
A two-part upgrade for the proton accelerator
A two-part upgrade is planned for HIPA starting in 2025. Preparations are already under way.
3.1 million in funding for new research projects at PSI
The PSI scientists Zurab Guguchia and Kirsten Schnorr are to receive grants totalling CHF 3.1 million from the Swiss National Science Foundation for ground-breaking projects.
Two million Swiss francs granted to search for new physics
Philipp Schmidt-Wellenburg will set up a novel experiment at a muon beamline at PSI.
The Swiss research infrastructure for particle physics CHRISP
Researchers are looking for deviations in the current standard model of physics and want to find out how our universe is constructed.
Size of helium nucleus measured more precisely than ever before
In experiments at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, an international research collaboration has measured the radius of the atomic nucleus of helium five times more precisely than ever before. The new value can be used to test fundamental physical theories.
Magnetically shielded from the rest of the world
At the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, researchers together with a company have constructed a room that is one of the best magnetically shielded places on the earth. With its help, they want to solve the last mysteries of matter and answer a fundamental question: Why does matter - and thus why do we - exist at all?
In search of new physics
With the high-intensity proton accelerator HIPA, the Paul Scherrer Institute generates elementary particles to clarify how the universe is structured. Using pions, muons, and neutrons, the researchers conduct experiments to test the standard model of particle physics.
Long-lived pionic helium: Exotic matter experimentally verified for the first time
Exotic atoms, in which electrons are replaced by other particles, allow deep insights into the quantum world. After eight years, an international group of scientists have succeeded in a challenging experiment conducted at PSI’s pion source: they created an artificial atom called “pionic helium”.
Tracking down the mystery of matter
At the ultracold neutron source at PSI, researchers have measured a property of the neutron more precisely than ever before: its electric dipole moment. That's because the search is still on for an explanation of why, after the Big Bang, there was more matter than antimatter.
Material from PSI helps to check inconsistencies in the Big Bang theory
Shortly after the Big Bang, radioactive Beryllium-7 atoms were formed, which today, throughout the universe, they have long since decayed. A sample of beryllium-7 artificially produced at PSI has now helped researchers to better understand the first minutes of the universe.
The hard worker from Val Mesolcina
For Aldo Antognini, physics and conviviality are in the bloodPSI researcher Aldo Antognini has received more than 2.2 million Swiss francs from the EU for his latest experiment. He wants to find out how magnetism is distributed in the proton. The particle physicist will be able to apply not only his scientific and technical talents, but his social flair as well.
Five hundred thousand times less likely than winning the lottery
Measuring the rarity of a particle decayIn the so-called MEG experiment at the PSI, researchers are searching for an extremely rare decay signature from a certain kind of elementary particles known as muons. More precisely, they are quantifying its improbability. According to their latest number, this decay occurs less than once in 2.4 trillion events. By means of this result, theoretical physicists can sort out which of their approaches to describing the universe will hold up against reality.