CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter
Cluster of ExcellenceCUI: Advanced
Imaging of Matter
Imaging of Matter
"Arts & Science" Exhibition in City HallPictures from the Micro World
30 March 2023
Photo: Esmek, Fernandez-Cuesta/UHH
In this image from the scanning electron microscope, tiny magnetic beads mix with polystyrene spheres. They help in the examination of biological samples.
Colorful images from the micro world of basic research that only reveal themselves at second glance: From April 4 to 24, 2023, the Cluster of Excellence "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter" of Universität Hamburg presents the exhibition "Arts & Science" at Hamburg City Hall. Admission is free.
They look like fossils, wickerwork patterns or wave-like structures, and some images have something sacred about them. The scope for interpretation is wide, and it is left to the viewers to let the beauty of the depictions sink in or to gain understanding of the underlying physics and chemistry via the accompanying texts. "We want to invite visitors to discover the artistic and the aesthetic in the natural sciences," says Prof. Dr. Peter Schmelcher, board member in the Cluster of Excellence, and co-founder of the Arts & Science initiative, which began with a first exhibition in 2017.
In the meantime, the research focus in the cluster has evolved. After initially concentrating on the ultrafast motions of molecules and electrons, scientists are now exploring functionalities: The larger and more complex systems become, the more likely it is that new properties will emerge. Superconductivity, for example, the property of conducting electricity without losses.
Large visualizations, lab photos, videos
The large-format visualizations in the exhibition provide an insight into the scientific phenomena being researched in the cluster. Photos of the state-of-the-art laboratories and the light sources complement the visualizations. QR codes lead to videos in which researchers explain their work.
In the Cluster of Excellence "CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter", researchers from Universität Hamburg cooperate with teams from DESY, the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) and the European XFEL.
Opening hours of City Hall:
- Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- City Hall is closed on many public holidays; it is open on Easter Monday.
