From November 6 to 12, 2023, the Week of the Particle World will take place nationwide. Bochum Physics also offers two events.
As part of the Network Particle World, the Chair EP I (Experimental Hadron Physics) offers for the Week of Particle Physics offers two events.
November 7, 4:30 -6:30 p.m.
Cloud chamber workshop: Making the invisible visible
In the cloud chamber workshop, participants will have the opportunity to build their own particle detector and use it to identify particles. While spectacular discoveries were made with the cloud chamber in the 1930s, today this simple detector is mainly found in museums and scientific exhibitions.
The workshop will explain which particles reach us from space, which particles make up "cosmic radiation" and which particles make it to the earth's surface. Using the cloud chamber, the basic principles of a particle detector are explained and how various particle properties can be determined. Using a do-it-yourself kit, the participants can build their own cloud chamber and observe particle tracks in it. Which trace belongs to which particle is an exciting question that the participants can answer themselves at the end of the workshop.
The workshop is suitable for those interested in 9th grade and above.
If you are interested please write us an informal e-mail to
09 November, 13.00 - 14.00 hrs
Guided tour of the Rubion accelerator facilities
Accelerators are important tools in nuclear and particle physics to study the structure and interaction of our matter at the smallest scale. Other subfields of physics also use accelerators to analyze materials on larger scales. The RUBION at the Ruhr-University Bochum owns different accelerator facilities for the generation of ion beams to analyze and specifically influence the structure and composition of materials. Among others, RUBION owns a 100kV and 500kV accelerator as well as a 4MV tandem accelerator.
During the guided tour through the accelerator facilities of RUBION, the participants will learn how the different types of accelerators work, how particles can be accelerated at all and which components are needed to combine the accelerated particles into a beam. In addition, the participants will learn about the current research questions that the scientists at RUBION are working on.
The tour lasts about an hour and is suitable for anyone interested from the age of 16. Parents may also bring younger children. Since the number of participants per tour is limited to a maximum of 20, we ask you to register in advance. Please send us an informal e-mail to with your name and the number of people you would like to register. German or English are possible as the language of the tour. Please tell us in the registration which language you prefer.
The tour will take place on 09.11.2023 from 13:00. Meeting point is in front of the entrance of the Audimax, on the central square of the campus of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150 , 44801 Bochum.
If you already want to learn something about RUBION, visit the website: https://www.rubion.rub.de/de/