XLAB photos Part 2

Continuing on our photo safari…

Day 6 – Last day of Physics

Sadly, this was the last day of Physics Luckily the lecturers made it one worth remembering! Johnny became very excited when I broached the topic of quantum entanglement. In that passionate, meandering way of his, he started to talk very rapidly about the EPR paradox, Maria Goeppert, Bell’s inequalities and Quantum Key Distribution! It was an excellent summary of most of the important developments of the 21st century.

In the afternoon, we learnt about the Nd:YAG laser. We saw for ourselves the phenomenon of frequency doubling, where the infrared light of the laser changed to green upon addition of a nonlinear crystal! This was quite magical, and of course I had to research on this after we went back – unfortunately my attempts to understand nonlinear optics were hampered by an inadequate grasp of Maxwell’s equations

Since it was the last day, of course we had to take photos with our lecturers:

All of Group 1 holding various paraphernalia on the Physics floor, with Johnny and Ellen

After lessons, we visited the Bunte Gotter (Colourful Gods) Art exhibition.

Painstakingly restoring the Bunte to the Gotter

Day 7 – First day of Neurophysiology

In the morning, we visited the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry.

OMG, Fourier Transform, what art thou doing here?!

NMR machines at the Max Planck Institute

We started on neurophysiology that afternoon. For our first experiment, we had to poke a needle into an oocyte, the largest cell available.

Poking a needle into an oocyte

A photo of our (successful) experiment! The adrenaline rush upon seeing the oscilloscope reading dip suddenly (signifying the entry of the needle) – exhilarating!

XLAB photos (Part 1)

Hello! This is what I posted on the XLAB blog, which can be found in my links! And why waste a good post, right? So I’ve reproduced it here, with permission from myself, of course.

Day 1- Frankfurt

Much excitement upon seeing the word ‘quark’ used to describe a pastry – wow, the Germans are that much into Physics? AWESOME!

Unfortunately this illusion was later shattered when Poh Jer Lin informed me that Quark was a type of cheese

Bad Homburg with attached tower

Day 2- Start of lessons at XLAB

Our first sight of XLAB

In the afternoon, we had a tour of the town centre. I’d been to Cambridge previously, and both towns had the same rustic, student-centric charm.

I would love to work in a place like that someday – a place where knowledge is prized, cosy enough that I know my neighbours but with enough cultural activity to keep it a-buzzing! Perhaps a quote from the bust of Rowena Ravenclaw (of Harry Potter) is in order here: “Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure”.

The town was as compact as Singapore!

I do not know why there was a random display of pretty things in the middle of the town centre

Day 3- An invigorating walk to Plesse Burg

In the morning, we did X-ray physics. This was waay more interesting than the experiments of the previous day because it was something new! We used a Bragg crystal to diffract X-rays – an interesting application of the otherwise mundane n(lambda) = 2dsin(tetha) formula.

After lessons had ended, it was time for…

I feel that Dr Tang’s polo tee goes very well with the yellow poppyfield

Again – nice colours

When we finally arrived at Plesse castle after a long trek, the panoramic views were stunning.

All of us in the courtyard of Burg Plesse!

Day 4 – Chorale concert

In the morning, we did radiation. Unfortunately we had already done this in school, so I was not looking forward to anything radically different, until…

The cloud chamber was one of the coolest things I saw on the trip!

In the evening, we went back to the town centre.

A wurst – at long last! It was lovely, juicy and oily – too bad the bun was a disappointment.

At the chorale concert in St Johannis kirche!

The choir had an outstanding alto whose voice perfectly complemented the soprano’s – so much so that someone like me (possessing an ear whose training has been undone by years of neglect) could appreciate it. Their rendition of ‘Hallelujah’ was quite awe-inspiring, especially when complemented by a clearly-enraptured Desmond simultaneously belting the lyrics into my ear.

Day 5 – Goßlar

And we had a day off, because it was a Sunday! We took this opportunity to visit Goßlar, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Looking up in wonderment and awe in the Mines of Rammelsberg

Schweineshaxe – the culinary highlight of the trip

Tricia posing with a chain-mail suit!

It was at this point, I think, that my accursed 4GB memory card ran out of space. Damnation!

The photos after this are of lower resolution because they are taken from my albums in Bradford’s FB account… (long story)

In Camborne

HELLO EVERYBUZZIE!

It’s been a long time since Quekadoodledoo blogged in the third person, hasn’t it? Just a quick status update, then – she is settling down very nicely in Camborne, and, while she has not had the opportunity to eat Fish and Chips yet, is quite enamoured with British food already.

(It’s the potatoes, she feels. Potatoes can do no wrong.)

Quekadoodledoo has a very nice buddy who has just been elected Head Girl! She is also very touched that her buddy gave up her room to her and is sleeping on the couch. She is blogging from her buddy’s room now. Looking forward to tomorrow (as always) because there’s going to be a beach barbecue!

Quekadoodledoo is also proud to announce that she is quite good at communicating with British ducks (no doubt it is her boundless charisma at work here). Ahh ducks everywhere are the same; regardless of our nationality, we are all tasty fluffy, floatsome and easily bought over by food

Now; if only humans could be the same.

Extra Gottingam non est vita, si est vita, non est ita

The title means: Outside Gottingen there is no life. Even if it is life, it is not like here.

True that. I will return to Göttingen someday – hopefully on a Summer Attachment programme to the Max Planck Institute!

Anyway, here is the mandatory photo safari:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference  — Robert Frost
Well, I took the photo above with this famous poem in mind. Very apt, as I was one of the two Physics honours students in a group of Biology aficionados.

The University town - as compact as Singapore!

Sheer languor

Squeeness! A verdant poppyfield against an azure blue sky – what’s not to love?

 

Das Göttinger Gänseliesel!

All PhD graduates from the University of Göttingen have to kiss the goose girl and dedicate flowers to her before they are granted their doctorades. I took this to be a good omen. Hi Gänseliesel please distribute your blessings!

 

Their window displays are so pretty

I love the lighting here! A sunset outside the castle, Burg Plesse

Happily displaying our new XLAB shirts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two people not wearing the XLAB shirts are Ellen and Johnny (I know, I like his moniker too), two of the friendliest and most talkative Physics lecturers I have met.

 

What Ms Fong would look like if she were German. Barbara possesses energy of volcanic proportions.

From NUSHS with love

Aren’t you already in love with Germany?

(Yes, I know, this post is dotted with – Göttingen makes me happy!)

XLAB withdrawal syndrome

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I miss XLAB so much it hurts :(:( I miss Barbara, Ellen and Johnny, and even Dr Neher, Anna-Lisa (the student who accompanied us on our excursions and is studying to become a teacher), Mr Beckmann, Bodo the golden retriever and Dr Koch.

It would be so good if our school could adopt the XLAB model and teach through experiments. I think XLAB reminded me of how it feels to love learning and not just mug for the sake of exams. Learning is distinctly different, I feel, when it is done out of sheer passion. And there is a surfeit of passion in XLAB, and Germany in general – every professional we met was truly immersed in their work. Their manner and speech hinted at an ineffable, innate motivation and actual enjoyment of their craft.

How many of us in Singapore can say we love what we are doing? This experience has taught me the relative importance of societal and parental expectations in choosing a career – that is to say, not much.

Anyway, I have a new aspiration: to work at one of the Max Planck Institutes (someday)! I like that it does fundamental research that is not necessarily hampered by pragmatic considerations (Yes. Yes. I didn’t believe this either until they said it themselves!). That’s what Science should be about – everyone knows that, but to what extent can this ideal be realised in many cases?

Haha I shall be a stalker and go off to read Ellen’s PhD thesis. How irritating that Barbara’s thesis cannot be downloaded for free