Following in the footsteps of Marie Curie, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen and Robert Andrews Millikan, around 65 students were able to experience a week of "Physics Summer" at TU Ilmenau in September 2024, albeit in autumnal temperatures - a new record number of participants in the already traditional event. From X-rays, radioactivity and holography to ultrashort light pulses, photo effects, transistors and diodes, they explored Nobel Prize-winning physical inventions and the underlying physical principles.
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"Worthy of a Nobel Prize!": Physics summer encourages young people to achieve scientific excellence
Organizer and Thuringian Research Prize winner Professor Jörg Kröger was not only interested in conveying the high experimental art and groundbreaking theoretical ideas behind the prize-winning discoveries to the young people. In laboratories and lecture halls, the participating physics enthusiasts also became researchers themselves and explored topics such as electronic components, optics, atomic and nuclear physics and thermodynamics, which are fundamental to understanding nature and everyday life. "It was also important for us to emphasize that behind every prize is years of hard and diligent work by the Nobel Prize winners," explains Prof. Kröger. This was also the case for Dennis Gabor, for example, who, after studying engineering, decades of research and over 100 patents, was only awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971 for his spectacular and astounding development of holography - almost 25 years after his invention.
Both individual physics enthusiasts and entire school classes took part in the 22nd Physics Summer at TU Ilmenau, which, according to organizer Jörg Kröger, is the only one of its kind in Germany. This included the special mathematics and science class from the Goetheschule Ilmenau. For one week, the 20 pupils of 11spez were released from their regular lessons to work on exciting physics topics together with other young people from all over Germany. The week began with lectures by Prof. Jörg Kröger and Prof. Stefan Krischok on Nobel Prizes for atomic and quantum physics and for semiconductors. They were then supervised by student tutors such as Eric Anacker during the subsequent project work and an internship, which physics students complete as part of their exams. Among other things, the Frank Hertz experiment was used to prove the existence of discrete energy levels in atoms. With his commitment, the Bachelor student also wants to inspire other young people for physics.
This spark had already been ignited in 17-year-old Maria before the physics summer. As a special class student, this was not her first time as a guest at the TU Ilmenau. The eleventh-grader had already completed an internship at the Experimental Physics I / Surface Physics in June: "If you're a fan of physics, then the experiments in the basic practical course, the lectures and the discussions with the tutors are really fun. The contrast to school is that you have to work through a complicated topic more or less by yourself in a group."
At the end of the week, Maria and her team presented the results of their week-long collaboration during the Physics Summer in a 30-minute lecture in the lecture hall. They explained the physical phenomenon they had investigated, explained the history of its discovery, presented possible applications and answered questions from the teachers and other participants. The three best groups were awarded a book prize for their presentation.
In addition to the subject matter, the students also gained insights into laboratories, the university library and campus life during the physics summer and were able to exchange ideas and encourage each other to perform at their best during a games evening and a tobogganing competition outside of the classroom and lecture hall.
This is also not the first time that physics teacher Philipp Gräser has taken part in the event with his class. Participation, he says, is certainly a challenge for his students, as they have to revise the material they have missed in some subjects afterwards. According to him, the high level of interest, however, has once again shown that they are happy to accept this hurdle:
I am very enthusiastic about the lectures that our students work on during this week and the physical knowledge they are able to absorb, process and reproduce. It is a great enrichment for them to get a taste of the everyday life of a science student and to find out how lectures, seminars and practicals are put together.
Experience the natural sciencesThe next opportunity for this will be at the TU Ilmenau during the taster study days from October 7 to 11 and October 28 to November 11, 2024 and at the event "Study natural sciences for a day!" on December 12, 2024. |
Impressions from Physics Summer 2024
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Prof. Jörg Kröger
Head of Experimental Physics I / Surface Physics