Welcome to PTB

Technical Visit: PTB

30 August 2024
Main Entrance of the PTB in Brunswick

As a participant in the IMEKO World Congress, you are cordially invited to visit the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Braunschweig on the day after the conference, i.e. on Friday, 30 August 2024. You can expect a very interesting and entertaining day - with visits to selected laboratories, an entertaining event in the PTB lecture hall (with short presentations on current developments in quantum technologies) and, spread throughout the day, many opportunities for collegial exchange. To ensure that this day is a success from an organizational point of view, we will group about 15 guests together and set up a special program of visits for each group. Each group will be accompanied by a PTB colleague throughout the day. If you have registered for the visit, you will find your personalized program for the day in your conference documents.

Program of the PTB visit

A large number of PTB laboratories are taking part in the program for this day. The laboratories are assigned to one of the following three subject areas. Each visitor group will have the opportunity to tour three laboratories, so that you can expect a varied and engaging program on every occasion.

system for measuring large torques
Unique in the world: system for measuring large torques
Industrial metrology

Industrial references can be found in almost every PTB laboratory. The thematic diversity is correspondingly broad: from mechanics, electricity, chemistry and optics to production metrology. Most recently: PTB has commissioned a globally unique facility for measuring large torques, such as those occurring in offshore wind turbines.

Here is a small selection of the PTB laboratories which will open their doors on this Visitors' Day:

  • our competence centres for photovoltaics and wind energy
  • departments of photometry and electrical energy metrology
  • working groups of length metrology, coordinate metrology and explosion protection
  • our scientific instrumentation
  • and many more.

If you are interested in the subject area of "Industrial Metrology", we will put together an interesting laboratory tour for you here.

Research on the quantum computer
Research on the quantum computer
Fundamental research

Quantum technologies - from quantum computers to quantum cryptography - are a prominent example of the fundamental research that is emphasised at PTB. All work on the International System of Units is also fundamental - for example in the redefinition of the kilogram and the atomic clocks of the next generation and beyond.

Are you primarily interested in questions of basic research? Then you can look forward to exciting insights from some of the following areas:

  • Time measurement: with classical caesium atomic clocks or with optical clocks
  • Everything to do with A, V and Ω: electrical quantum standards
  • Redefining the kilogram: Interferometry on spheres
  • and much more.

Your day at PTB will also include a small lecture programme in our lecture hall. It will also be about quanta. Let us surprise you.

clinical accelerator with water phantom
Research into tumour therapy: clinical accelerator with water phantom
Life Sciences

As soon as humans or global environment and climate are directly concerned, issues are getting complex immediately. Metrology plays an important role everywhere in order to be able to assess the interrelationships in the respective areas and the effects on humans - be it in measurements of environmental radioactivity, in applied acoustics or in dosimetric investigations for radiotherapy.

The PTB laboratories assigned to the life sciences also cover a wide range of topics. If this subject area is your choice, we will put together a laboratory tour for you from the following options:

  • Medicine: Dosimetry for radiation and X-ray therapy
  • Environment: Radioactivity in the environment, alpha and gamma spectrometry, neutron radiation
  • Sound: Applied acoustics and noise measurement technology
  • Bioorganic metrology and chemistry
  • Mobility: Traffic emissions, speed and acceleration measurement technology
  • and much more.

Chronology of the visit day

07:00Departure of the coaches at CCH, Hamburg
10:00Arrival at PTB, Braunschweig
11:00 – 15:30Guided tour through PTB
16:00Departure of the coaches at PTB, Braunschweig
19:30Arrival at CCH, Hamburg