Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1887 |
Preceding agency |
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Type | Higher federal institute |
Jurisdiction | Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action |
Headquarters | Braunschweig |
Employees | 1900[1] |
Agency executive |
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Website | ptb.de |
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is the national
Tasks
Together with
PTB consists of nine technical-scientific divisions (two of them in Berlin), which are subdivided into approx. 60 departments. These again are subdivided into more than 200 working groups. PTB's tasks are as follows: the determination of fundamental and natural constants; the realization, maintenance and dissemination of the legal units of the SI; and safety technology. This spectrum of tasks is supplemented by services such as the German Calibration Service (Deutscher Kalibrierdienst, DKD) and by metrology for the area regulated by law, metrology for industry, and metrology for technology transfer. As the basis for its tasks, PTB conducts fundamental research and development in the field of metrology in close cooperation with universities, other research institutions, and industry. PTB employs approximately 1900 staff members. It has a total budget of approx. €183 million at its disposal; in 2012, approx. €15 million was, in addition, canvassed as third-party funds for research projects.[3]
The Units and Time Act entrusts PTB also especially with the dissemination of legal time in Germany. To have a time basis for this, PTB operates several atomic clocks (currently two cesium clocks and, since 1999 and 2009, respectively, two cesium fountain clocks[4]). By order of PTB, the synchronization of clocks via radio is performed via the time signal transmitter DCF77 operated by Media Broadcast. Computers which are connected to the Internet can obtain the time also via the three public NTP time servers operated by PTB.[5]
In
Department Q.5 "Technical Cooperation" realizes projects of the German and international development cooperation in the field of quality infrastructure. These activities promote competitiveness as well as environmental protection and consumer protection in developing countries and in countries in transition.[6] One of the tasks of PTB’s "Metrological Information Technology" Department – in accordance with the German Gambling Ordinance (§ 11 ff. SpielV) – is to grant type approvals for gaming machines which offer the possibility to make winnings. Also, according to the Federal Ordinance on Voting Machines, PTB is in charge of the type approval of voting computers.[7] This is, however, moot as, in a judgment of 3 March 2009,[8] the Federal Constitutional Court has declared the use of such voting machines to be inadmissible.
Weapons which may be carried with the Minor Firearms Certificate, i.e. weapons for shooting blanks or irritants and weapons used as signaling devices, require a PTB test mark for their approval. Occasionally, these weapons are also jointly referred to as "PTB weapons" and bear the PTA or PTB proof mark F (see also: Act on the Proof Testing of Arms and Ammunition).
Sites and structure
The main site of PTB is in
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Main entrance to PTB in Braunschweig with the sculpture created by Friedrich Wilhelm Voswinkel
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Aerial photo of the Braunschweig site
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Aerial photo of the Berlin-Adlershof site
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Aerial photo of the Berlin-Charlottenburg site
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PTB's atomic clock CS2
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In the Reichsanstalt für Maß und Gewicht ("Imperial Institute for Weights and Measures" – RMG), photo probably published in 1928
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At the Reichsanstalt für Maß und Gewicht ("Imperial Institute for Weights and Measures" – RMG) in February 1931
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PTB's cesium atomic clock "CS 4", put into operation in 1992. Since 2005, it has been on exhibit in the Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum
PTB is headed by the Presidential Board in Braunschweig, which is composed of the President, the Vice-President and a further member. Another executive committee is the Directors' Conference, with the Presidential Board and the Heads of the Divisions as members. PTB is advised by the Kuratorium (PTB's Advisory Board), which is composed of representatives from science, the economy and politics.
PTB is composed of the following nine divisions:[9][10]
- Division 1: Mechanics and Acoustics (site: Braunschweig) with the following departments: and Dynamics
- Division 2: Electricity (site: Braunschweig) with the following departments: High Frequency and Electromagnetic Fields, Electrical Energy Measuring Techniques, Quantum Electronics, Semiconductor Physics and Magnetism, Quantum Electrical Metrology
- Division 3: Chemical Physics and Explosion Protection (site: Braunschweig) with the following departments: Metrology in Chemistry, Analytics and Thermodynamic State Behavior of Gases, Thermophysical Quantities, Physical Chemistry, Explosion Protection in Energy Technology, Explosion Protection in Sensor Technology and Instrumentation, Fundamentals of Explosion Protection
- Division 4: Optics (site: Braunschweig) with the following departments: Photometry and Applied
- Division 5: Precision Engineering (site: Braunschweig) with the following departments: Surface Metrology, Dimensional Nanometrology, Coordinate Metrology, Interferometry on Material Measures, Scientific Instrumentation Department
- Division 6: Ionizing Radiation (site: Braunschweig) with the following departments: Radiation Protection
- Division 7: Temperature and Synchrotron Radiation (site: Berlin-Charlottenburg and Adlershof) with the following departments: Radiometry with Cryophysics and Spectrometry, Detector Radiometry and Radiation Thermometry, Temperature, Heat and Vacuum
- Division 8: Medical Physics and Metrological Information Technology (site: Berlin-Charlottenburg) with the following departments: Medical Metrology, Biosignals, Biomedical Optics, Mathematical Modeling and Data Analysis, Metrological Information Technology
- The Presidential Staff Office and the Press and Information Office as well as the Divisions Z (Administrative Services) and Q (Scientific-technical Cross-sectional Tasks) report directly to the Presidential Board. Division Q comprises, among other things, the Academic Library, the Legal Metrology and Technology Transfer Departments, the Technical Services, and the Technical Cooperation Department.
History
Two essential factors which led to the founding of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (Imperial Physical Technical Institute – PTR) were the determination of internationally valid, uniform measures in the
In 1872, some Prussian natural scientists joined forces and demanded the establishment of a state institute in order to solve this problem. The reason for this was that such a task was scientifically too ambitious for industrial laboratories and, in addition, not profitable for them, and classical training institutes were not suited for the task either. Among the supporters of the "Schellbach Memorandum" (named after its author Karl Heinrich Schellbach) ranked, among others,
Not until some years later were Werner von Siemens and Hermann von Helmholtz, the "founding fathers" of the PTR, able to make their vision – the establishment of a research institute which was to link scientific, technical and industrial interests in an optimal way – come true. Finally, on 28 March 1887, the Imperial Diet approved the first annual budget of the PTR – the founding of the first state-financed, university-external, major research institution in Germany which combined free fundamental research with services for industry. Werner von Siemens ceded private land in
Birth of quantum physics
The first outstanding scientific achievement at the PTR was also closely connected with Max Planck. To decide whether electricity or gas would be more economic for street lighting in Berlin, the PTR was to develop a more precise standard for luminous intensity. For this purpose, in 1895, Otto Lummer and Wilhelm Wien developed the first cavity radiator for the practical generation of thermal radiation. Their measurements of the spectrum of the black-body radiation were so precise that they contradicted Wien's radiation law at long-wave radiation. This caused one of the cornerstones of classical physics of that time to totter. The measurements prompted a decisive impulse on the part of Max Planck to divide thermal radiation – in an "act of despair", as he later declared – into separate portions. This was the birth of quantum physics.
New structure and new physics
In 1914, the PTR President
Nazi Germany
With the appointment of
Under Stark and – after 1939 – under his successor Abraham Esau, the PTR strongly dedicated itself to armament research. A newly founded laboratory for acoustics was not only to investigate general – but mainly also military – fields of application. This included, among other things, the acoustic finding of artillery, the military utilization of ultrasound and the development of decoding procedures. In addition, researchers of PTR developed acoustic mines and a steering system for torpedoes which orientated itself on the sound field of traveling ships.[14] Due to its classical metrological tasks, the PTR was also closely connected with the armament industry of the Third Reich. Since exact measures are a basic requirement for the manufacture of military equipment, the PTR gained a key role in armament production and defense.[15] The extent to which the PTR was also involved in the German nuclear weapons project is controversial. It is, however, known that – prior to his time as PTR president – Abraham Esau conducted – until 1939 – a group of researchers dealing with nuclear fission. Later, he took over the specialist area "nuclear fission" in the Reich Research Council which supervised, from spring 1942 on, the German uranium project. Shortly after that, Hermann Göring subordinated the working group under the former PTR physicist Kurt Diebner to Division V for atomic physics at the PTR. Esau received the title "Authorized Representative of the Reichsmarschall for Nuclear Physics", a post which he, however, ceded to Walther Gerlach already at the end of 1943.[16]
To escape the
Re-founding of PTB in Braunschweig and other PTR successors
Approximately from 1947 on, successor institutes were developed in addition to the PTR in Berlin-Charlottenburg, i.e. one in East Berlin – for the Soviet Occupation Zone – and one in the
In the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the Deutsches Amt für Maß und Gewicht (DAMG) had established itself with its principle seat in Berlin. After several renamings, this institute was designated Amt für Standardisierung, Meßwesen und Warenprüfung (Office for Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control – ASMW) during the last GDR years; the name already indicates that this office of the GDR had more extensive tasks than PTB in the
Growth and reunification
The young PTB grew rapidly in the years after its founding – both in terms of staff and in terms of financial resources. Not only its scientific metrological profile was extended, but also its palette of services rendered to industry, in particular in the form of
From 1967 to 1995, PTB operated the Experimental and Research Reactor Braunschweig. This reactor served in particular as
The "Wende" ("political change") in Germany in 1990 also led to a "reunification in metrology". PTB took over parts of the ASMW (Office for Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control of the former German Democratic Republic), among them 400 employees, and the site Berlin-Friedrichshagen as additional field office (this has meanwhile been given up again). Other parts of the ASMW were integrated into the
Journals
Issue No. | Title | Translation | Date of issue |
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1 | Dimensionen der Einheiten | Dimensions of the Units | September 2001 |
2 | Größen des Sports | Sizes of Sport | June 2002 |
3 | Zum Licht | To the Light | February 2003 |
4 | Im Labyrinth des Zufalls | In the Labyrinth of Random | December 2003 |
5 | Kleine Größen | Small Sizes | December 2004 |
6 | Zeitgeschichten | Contemporary Histories | September 2005 |
7 | Die Unveränderlichen | The Immutable | September 2006 |
8 | Innenansichten | Interior Views | October 2007 |
9 | Die Gradmesser | The Indicators | November 2008 |
10 | Menschen im Labor | People in the Lab | December 2009 |
11 | Kräfte messen | Measuring Forces | May 2011 |
12 | Meilensteine | Milestones | June 2013 |
13 | Alltag in Maßen | Everyday life in moderation[20] | July 2016 |
14 | Maße für alle | Measurements for All | November 2018 |
The PTB magazine maßstäbe, which is published approximately once a year, can be subscribed to free of charge or it can be downloaded from the Internet pages of PTB.[21] It contains articles about the quantities of physics. These articles are intended to be generally understandable and informative for the broad public.
In addition, PTB publishes the scientific information bulletin PTB-news three times a year. On four pages, it contains news from the fields of work "Fundamentals of Metrology", "Applied Metrology for Industry", "Medicine and Environmental Protection", "Metrology for Society" and "International Affairs". The PTB-news are published in German and in English.
PTB-Mitteilungen is the metrological specialist journal and the official information bulletin of PTB. It is published four times a year and contains original scientific articles as well as overview articles on metrological subjects from PTB's fields of activity. Each volume focuses on a main topic. As an official information bulletin, the journal stands in a long tradition which goes back to the beginnings of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (Imperial Technical Physical Institute - PTR, founded in 1887). Until 2014, "PTB-Mitteilungen" was also the official bulletin in which the type approvals granted by PTB as well as the tests and conformity assessments carried out by PTB were published in a section of its own [named "Amtliche Bekanntmachungen" ("Official Notes")]. With the new Measures and Verification Act which has been in force since 1 January 2015 and with the new Measures and Verification Ordinance, there is no longer a legal basis for these notices. From 2015 onwards, "PTB-Mitteilungen" is, therefore, a purely metrological specialist journal and does not publish any "Official Notes" any more.[22]
Presidents
Presidents of PTB and of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt Berlin-Charlottenburg:[23]
- 1888–1894: Hermann von Helmholtz, founding president
- 1895–1905: Friedrich Kohlrausch
- 1905–1922: Emil Warburg
- 1922–1924: Walther Nernst
- 1924–1933: Friedrich Paschen
- 1933–1939: Johannes Stark
- 1939–1945: Abraham Esau
- 1945: Wilhelm Steinhaus (for a short time, until the dissolution of the PTR)
- 1947: Martin Grützmacher (temporary director of the re-founded PTB in Braunschweig)
- 1948–1950: Wilhelm Kösters
- 1951–1961: Richard Vieweg
- 1961–1969: Martin Kersten
- 1970–1975: Ulrich Stille
- 1975–1995: Dieter Kind
- 1995–2011: Ernst O. Göbel
- 2012-2022: Joachim Ullrich
- 2022–present: Cornelia Denz
Employees
Employees of PTR and PTB were, among others: Udo Adelsberger,
Similar organisations
- Eidgenössisches Institut für Metrologie (Switzerland)
- Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen(Austria)
- National Measurement Institute, Australia(Australia)
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL) (UK)
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (formerly: "National Bureau of Standards") (USA)
- Internationales Büro für Maß und Gewicht, Paris (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, BIPM)
References
- ^ Employees
- ^ "Prof. Dr. Cornelia Denz". 2 June 2022.
- ^ ptb annual report on ptb.de
- ^ "Questions about time". Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ NTP time servers of PTB
- ^ Technical Cooperation
- ^ Federal Ordinance on Voting Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Federal Constitutional Court Archived 2016-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Die PTB gliedert sich organisatorisch in 10 Abteilungen (9 Fachabteilungen und eine Verwaltung)"
- ^ PTB: Divisions
- ^ see Artikel über die Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt in Meyers großes Konversationslexikon (1905) bei Zeno.org
- ^ see Helmut Rechenberg: Helmholtz und die Gründerjahre, in: PTR/PTB: 125 Jahre metrologische Forschung. PTB-Mitteilungen, 2012, volume 2, p. 9 on ptb.de
- ^ PTR und PTB: 125 Jahre genau – Geschichte einer Institution on ptb.de
- ^ Ulrich Kern: Forschung und Präzisionsmessung. Die Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt zwischen 1918 und 1948. Bremerhaven 2011, p. 267.
- ^ Dieter Hoffmann: Die Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt im Dritten Reich, in: PTR/PTB: 125 Jahre metrologische Forschung. PTB-Mitteilungen, 2012, volume 2, p. 30f on ptb.de
- ^ Ulrich Kern: Forschung und Präzisionsmessung. Die Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt zwischen 1918 und 1948. Bremerhaven 2011, p. 265.
- ^ Max von Laue: seine Bedeutung für den Wiederaufbau der deutschen Wissenschaft
- ^ PTR und PTB: 125 Jahre genau – Geschichte einer Institution on ptb.de (PDF)
- ^ "Pressemitteilungen der PTB: 50 Jahre Spurensuche". Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ^ This is a pun; Maß means "measurement", but in Maßen means "in moderation" in roughly the way that the English phrase "a measured response" does not mean measured with a ruler.
- ^ maßstäbe der PTB
- ^ PTB Press & What's New
- ISSN 0030-834X.
Literature
- Hermann von Helmholtz: Zählen und Messen, erkenntnistheoretisch betrachtet. Original publication in: Philosophische Aufsätze, Eduard Zeller zu seinem fünfzigjährigen Doctorjubiläum gewidmet (dedicated to Eduard Zeller on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his doctoral degree. Leipzig 1887. Fues’ Verlag. pp. 17–52. Digital edition: Heidelberg University Library, Heidelberg, 2010.
- Johannes Stark (editor): Forschung und Prüfung. 50 Jahre Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt. S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1937.
- H. Moser (editor): Forschung und Prüfung. 75 Jahre Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt/Reichsanstalt. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1962.
- Jürgen Bortfeld, W. Hauser, Helmut Rechenberg (Ed.): 100 Jahre Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt/Bundesanstalt 1887–1987. (= Forschen – Messen – Prüfen. Vol. 1) Braunschweig 1987, ISBN 3-876-64140-3.
- David Cahan: Meister der Messung. Die Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt im Deutschen Kaiserreich. Wirtschaftsverlag NW, Bremerhaven 2011, ISBN 978-3-86918-081-6.
- Ulrich Kern: Forschung und Präzisionsmessung. Die Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt zwischen 1918 und 1948. Wirtschaftsverlag NW, Bremerhaven 2011, ISBN 978-3-86918-082-3.
- Dieter Kind: Herausforderung Metrologie. Die Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt und die Entwicklung seit 1945. in: Forschen – Messen – Prüfen. Wirtschaftsverlag, Bremerhaven 2002, ISBN 3-89701-902-7.
- Rudolf Huebener, Heinz Lübbig: A Focus of Discoveries. World Scientific, Singapur 2008, ISBN 978-9-812-79034-7.
- Rudolf Huebener, Heinz Lübbig: Die Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt. Ihre Bedeutung beim Aufbau der modernen Physik. Vieweg+Teubner, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-834-81390-9.
- Brigitte Jacob, Wolfgang Schäche, Norbert Szymanski: Bauten für die Wissenschaft – 125 Jahre Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt/Bundesanstalt in Berlin-Charlottenburg 1887–2012. JOVIS Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-86859-163-7.
- Imke Frischmuth, Jens Simon (Eds.): A Metrological Textbook. The Art of Measuring at PTB – in the Past, Present and Future. Wirtschaftsverlag NW, Bremerhaven 2012, ISBN 978-3-86918-301-5.