InternalMany visitors find out more about European XFEL
European XFEL contributes own presentation to DESY’s Open Day and the Hamburg Science Night.
On 29 October 2011, from 12:00 until midnight, the DESY research centre opened its doors to the public. One of the venues that attracted great interest was the exhibition “Licht der Zukunft” (“Enlightening Science”) in the large undulator test hall, which was attended by many of the more than 13 000 visitors. The exhibition centred on six big magnet structures (undulator segments) which had only just arrived and in which the X-ray flashes of the European XFEL will be generated in future. Through the window of an air-conditioned special laboratory, visitors could observe how the properties of a magnet segment are measured. More than 90 such segments will be tested here in detail in the coming years before being installed inside one of the X-ray laser tunnels.
There was more to see, however: prototype components of the future detectors, for example, or a model of the tunnel boring machine. Movies and numerous posters completed the information of offer. More than 40 employees were in action throughout the day. Grown-up and young visitors interested in science, among them many neighbours of the European XFEL construction sites, used the opportunity to enquire about the objectives, current status and many other details of the research project. The physics experiments on the topics of laser, magnetism, and superconductivity were also very well frequented, as was the laser-engraving of key ring pendants and the children's programme.
