Research News
Victor Hess (rechts im Ballonkorb) wird nach einer seiner Ballonfahrten in den Jahren 1911/12 von Neugierigen umringt. Bild: Victor Franz Hess Gesellschaft
Event Information
From 6 to 8 August 2012, scientists from all over the world will meet in Bad Saarow/Pieskow to discuss the development of astroparticle physics. The symposium commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of cosmic radiation is organised by DESY in cooperation with the University of Potsdam and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.
Background Information
The Helmholtz Alliance Astroparticle Physics pools the work of physicists from the Helmholtz centres KIT and DESY as well as from universities in Aachen, Berlin (Humboldt University), Bonn, Dortmund (Technical University), Dresden (Technical University), Erlangen-Nürnberg, Hamburg, Mainz, Münster, Munich (Technical University), Potsdam, Siegen, Tübingen, Würzburg, Wuppertal, from three Max Planck Institutes and from institutions in Paris and Chicago.
100 Years of Cosmic Radiation
On 7 August 1912, the Austrian physicist Victor F. Hess was able to prove the existence of high-altitude radiation penetrating the atmosphere from outer space during a balloon ride at 5,300 metres altitude above the Schwielochsee lake in south-east Brandenburg, using three ionisation measurement devices. He was not yet aware of the consequences of this discovery when he landed in Bad Saarow/Pieskow near the Scharmützelsee lake and travelled back on the train to Vienna via Berlin. The history of discovery of cosmic radiation was by no means a straightforward process.
In contrast to X-radiation, which was celebrated worldwide immediately after its discovery and effected a revolution of medical diagnostics within only a few years, more than 15 years passed before cosmic radiation was scientifically acknowledged. The dispute was finally resolved with Hess being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1936.
At the beginning of the 1950s, elementary particle physics shifted to focus on accelerator experiments. At first, astroparticle physics concentrated on investigating high-energy cosmic ray air showers. Yet the most in-depth insight into possible sources of cosmic radiation was made possible by the imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS, all of which involve also DESY. High-energy gamma radiation in particular already has helped to discover about 140 cosmic accelerators. In future, this history of success is to be continued with the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA, again involving a considerable contribution from DESY.
