Experimenting with Liquid Nitrogen

Tuesday, October 4, 2016. Three twelfth graders from the Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Gymnasium Potsdam set out together with Mrs. Hammermeister, math and physics teacher at the school, to climb the steep Schäferberg. These students were Florian Hoffmann, Mirjam Höchel and Jonas Ben Hermann.

As part of our seminar course with the somewhat unwieldy name "Career and Study Orientation with Physics as a Leading Subject," we were given the opportunity to conduct numerous experiments with liquid nitrogen in the Wannsee student laboratory of the Helmholtz-Zentrum-Berlin (HZB). These served as preparation for the scientific experiment show "Eulenslam 2017", which will take place at the Helmholtz-Gymnasium on February 16, 2017.

The cooperation between HZB and the Helmholtz-Gymnasium, which is actually based on the common name giver, has now existed for four years. As a result, many students from our school who are enthusiastic about science have already been able to take part in events at HZB and learn about physical topics.

Ms. Köpnick-Welzel and her student assistants Lena Lindenmeier and Alev Güzel actively supported us in our project to investigate superconducting materials and liquid nitrogen more closely. These are, in fact, difficult to access and, as they are associated with temperatures of about -200°C  but the student lab provided us with both.

Together, we tok a deeper look at the levitation of resistance-free bodies, first on a ring-shaped magnetic track and then, a debut, also tested the effect on a track that was rotated in itself. We also observed how strongly liquid nitrogen cools and even how ethanol, with a melting point of -114°C, forms ice crystals. Ms. Köpnick-Welzel was in charge of implementing the experiments, ensuring everyone's safety and a very satisfactory outcome for us. We also have to thank Ms. Lindenmeier for her expertise in explaining the complex physical processes to us.

Working in a team at the HZB was a great experience for us: we were amazed that we were given so much freedom to experiment. In order to offer even more students such unique impressions from the world of research and science, we hope to continue and expand our cooperation with the Helmholtz-Zentrum-Berlin and its student laboratory.

Thank you very much!

 

 

 

 

Florian Hoffmann
Mirjam Höchel
Jonas Hermann