Whether in vehicle transmissions, hip replacements, or tiny sensors for triggering airbags: The respective components must slide against each other with minimum friction to prevent loss of energy and material wear. Investigating the friction behavior of nanosystems, scientists from the Physik-Department of Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have discovered a previously unknown type of friction that sheds new light on some previously unexplainable phenomena.

Prof. Dr. Jonathan Finley takes over the Chair for Semiconductor Nanostructures and Quantum Systems at the Walter Schottky Institut, succeeding from Prof. Dr. Gerhard Abstreiter.

„DNA ist einfach Wahnsinn“, sagt der Biophysiker Hendrik Dietz. Das neue Wissenschaftsportal „Arte Future“ zeigt zukunftsweisende Forschungsprojekte mit der Doppelhelix. Dabei schaut Arte auch ins Physik-Department: Hendrik Dietz will aus den Molekülen Nano-Roboter bauen – „Stricken“ mit DNA.

Prof. Elisa Resconi (Hochenergie-Neutrinoastrophysik) und Prof. Lothar Oberauer (Niederenergie-Neutrinoastrophysik) wurden im Komitee für Astroteilchenphysik in Deutschland (KAT) als Representanten ihrer jeweiligen Forschungsgebiete gewählt.

Prof. Gerhard Abstreiter has been named new director of the TUM Institute for Advanced Study. He is a renowned physicist in the fields of semiconductor research and nanotechnology and has been founding director of both the Walter Schottky Institute and the Center for Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials.

The particle physicist Jacopo Ghiglieri has received the dissertation prize 2013 of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG). The three DPG divisions Gravitation and Relativity, Hadronic, Nuclear and Particle Physics award the dissertation prize for outstanding research in the framework of a PhD work and for excellent verbal and written presentation of the results.

When a crystal is hit by an intense ultrashort light pulse, its atomic structure is set in motion. A team of physicists observed this motion on the femto second time scale.

Bereits zum dritten Mal fand am 31. Januar 2013 am Physik-Department der Tag der Physikerin statt.

X-ray microscopy requires radiation of extremely high quality. In order to obtain sharp images instrument and sample must stay absolutely immobile even at the nanometer scale during the recording. A new method developed at TUM and PSI relaxes these hard restrictions.

Physikerinnen und Physiker informieren am Donnerstag, den 7. Februar über das Physikstudium und die Forschung am Physik-Department. Bei Laborführungen und Vorträgen erfahren die Schülerinnen und Schüler, dass die moderne Physik spannend ist und Spass macht!