Über kleine Teilchen und kleine Physiker:innen
It’s been a while since my last post. Almost exactly a year (not counting old articles that I kept translating over time). After a year of the Schrödinger (non-)existence of this blog, in which I neither officially announced a break nor posted anything, I would now like to give you an update. I’d like to…
WROUM, Schi, Schi, Schi, WROUM, Schi, Schi, Schi, Jiiii, Jiiii, Jiiii, Jiiii – No, we’re not at a techno concert, but in an MRI tube. Anyone who has ever had the questionable pleasure of having done an MRI scan will know what I’m talking about. As if it wasn’t bad enough to feel like Dracula in a coffin, you’re subjected to the most boring techno music in the world. As I lay there trying not to sway to the beat, I asked myself: Does it have to be that loud?
Physics and medicine have a close but changing relationship. Many discoveries in physics are regarded as major breakthroughs precisely when they bring medical benefits. Stethoscopes use membranes to amplify acoustic waves, thermometers utilize the thermal expansion of mercury to measure temperature, and sonography uses ultrasound to take a first look at the unborn baby. However, some discoveries in physics turn out to be a double-edged sword. X-rays, for example, allow us to look inside the body to recognize and correctly treat bone fractures. There is only one small disadvantage: X-rays destroy our bodies and can kill us.