What do atoms actually look like? Is there a way to see them? What sort of light, microscopes, and physical conditions do we need to explore the smallest conceivable structures of matter? And is there a way to observe, as in a “molecular movie”, chemical reactions, and biochemical processes and transformations? The answers to these questions are now available thanks to the researches and the results already obtained by scientists all over the world.
Prof. Massimo Altarelli (Max Planck Institute for Structure and Dynamics of Matter Hamburg, Germany) will tell us about the fascinating developments of this part of physics, from the discovery of X-rays in 1895, which allowed for the determination of the atomic structure of matter, to the ever increasing demand for more and more brilliant X-ray sources, and the breakthrough with the phenomenon of synchrotron radiation. The latest addition to the handful of existing X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (XFEL’s) is the European XFEL, resulting from the collaboration of 12 countries including Italy, and now operating in Hamburg, which Professor Altarelli led until 2017.
Event in English.
Reservation no longer available