Bern History Museum

The Bern Historical museum is an amazing building, built after the style of 18th century castles. at the fountain before the gate to the grounds of the museum, is modified bike pumps for water fight or just explore fluid dynamics. The nozzle was unmounted so that it could point anywhere.
The ticket pricing is a bit odd, with different prices for different exhibit visitation permission. The exhibit called the Einstein museum is the reason for our visit. The temporary exhibit at the time was about the moon landing, and the involvement that Bern and the rest of Switzerland had invested on the Apollo 11 expedition. The university in Bern had created a foil to capture particles emitted by the sun, called the solar wind. There was model of the equipment and parts of the original foil and support structure also. Another element that Switzerland had direct involvement in was the watches worn by the astronauts, they had a copy of the model used on display. Also in that exhibit was a table to demonstrate the pull of gravity and how that can be utilized in space flight. I enjoyed playing with this for some time. You would roll a metal marble down a ramp at a planet and the magnet under it would curve the marbles trajectory. This conception of  gravity could have been included in the area of what discoveries Einstein's papers on relativity caused.
The section of the museum that pointed out the long history that Bern has of housing a Jewish community was a bit of a surprise, in that it was so quickly mentioned and given such proof. Having a part of a tomb stone from the middle ages present. The info on the stone also stated how the Jewish cemetery was separate from the Christian cemetery.
This fit the later content of Einstein's life promoting the creation of a Jewish state or Israel after WWII. The content presented on the destruction of world war II was very heavy, the depictions of the suffering and the inclusion of video proof of the German war crimes, and the room panorama of the bombing of Hiroshima really hit me.
I enjoyed how the museum did not shy away from the failings of Einstein's personal life, having a family tree showing which cousin was his second wife. the inclusion of the letters to his first wife before the marriage during and after. Also the lose contact that he had with is first two sons.

Bern History Museum - Moon Landing

     The museum in Bern did a great job showing us about Einstein and his life. It also had interesting displays on the German influence in Bern. However, one thing that I was not expecting to learn about there was the first moon landing accomplished by the US.
     It was very surprising to see that there was a whole exhibit on Bern's influence on the moon landing. Bern had influenced the moon landing in multiple ways that I had never known even though I had learned about the moon landing many times before. Since many of us know that Switzerland is known for making watches it is not as much of a surprise that Bern was asked to make highly accurate watches that could survive a trip to space. What is more surprising is that Buzz Aldrin helped conduct an experiment on solar wind that was created at the University of Bern before the cameras were even rolling. We always remember seeing the footage of the first man walking on the moon, but not very many people realize that it holds a connection to Bern, Switzerland.

Einstein Museum

After visiting the Einsteinhaus in Bern, I also went to the Einstein Museum. The museum was a great educational addition because it discussed a lot of the historical context surrounding Einstein's life, the most notable event probably being World War II. I learned that despite Einstein's fame as a scientific figurehead, the US government was still skeptical of him during WWII due to his German citizenship. Though Einstein resided in the US at the time, he was not allowed to participate in the Manhattan Project and was put under close FBI surveillance throughout the war. This was interesting to me because it shows how distrustful countries were of each other at that time; it did not matter that Einstein was a prominent scientific figure, his German origin still made him a potential threat to the US. Overall, I enjoyed visiting the Einsteinhaus and Einstein Museum because they both provided background information on Einstein's life and character, which did not always portray him in the positive light he is painted in today.

Musuem of Einstein

During our day trip to Bern, we visited the musuem of Einstein. It had other stuff in it but was many focused on his life time, and anything and everything that pertained to his life. I found something interesting in that musuem that stood out more than anything. It was alittle plaque that stated that Einstein was very opposed to the creation and use of the atomic bomb. He held protests against his creation, which i found interesting, because i think he realized the power behind his work, and the potiental dangerous consequences of using the bomb.

Albert Einstein

I thought that the Einstein house in Bern, Switzerland was very interesting to see and gave me an inside view on what his personal life was like. Something I learned at the Einstein house was that his personal life was not perfect since his marriage failed and he eventually went on to marry his cousin and had many affairs during their relationship. I also learned that he struggled in the beginning of his career which is an important reminder of just because people are successful in their careers, it does not always mean that the beginning was successful and that they did not have to endure struggles to get to where they ended up. 

From the Einstein portion of the museum we visited in Bern, I learned that he made a patent for the hearing aid in 1929. I did not know he was involved in the history of hearing aids and I thought it was very salient to me since I wear a hearing aid. 

History of Science Museum- the battery

Something I learned at the History of Science Museum in Geneva is how the first battery was made. It was made with zinc/copper with sulfuric acid mixed with water. In my head, I wouldve thought that the first battery would be made for things like electricity for houses, cars, etc. But I learned that this battery was often used for entertainment purposes as well as a gift for other people.

CERN

     The CERN lab really enforces the idea that even though we have made huge leaps in bounds in science, there is still a lot left for humanity to discover. It's crazy to think that Bosons were such a recent discovery that I didn't learn about them in high school physics, but future generations will.
     It was interesting learning how they conduct experiments and test new theories at CERN. A lot goes into testing, collecting and analyzing new data to confirm or disprove a theory. I was impressed to learn that they keep the data completely separate at two of the locations of the LHC; ATLAS and CMS. The data is collected and analyzed completely separately then compared so that there can be no bias to influence interpretation or contamination of the data. They want to continue to stick to true science at CERN which is very responsible of them and allows them to have so much success.

     Some of the information I learned that surprised me was how much CERN has contributed to my field of study; Software Engineering. CERN made huge contributions in mass data storage because they needed to be able to store all the data they collected from their experiments. In addition they founded the World Wide Web to be able to share that data. This is obviously a huge contribution in not only software engineering and development, but to everyone that uses the internet today.

Sun Dials

At the Geneva History of Science Museum, I learned about sun dials. The sun dial that was displayed to us showed the time of the sunrise/sunset. One of the sundial rings represents latitude and is adjusted according to your location. Another ring represented the different months in a year. Instead of displaying months it displayed the horoscope names, like Libra, Cancer, Leo and etc. When lined accordingly, it will tell you at approximate time of sunrise and sunset. We added an hour to our times due to the daylight savings time and after doing so, our times were accurate. 

There were many sun dials located inside and outside of the museum. The sun dials could tell you the time, the monthly constellation, sunsets and more. It was fun learning about ways people used to be able to determine time and location without electricity making it easy.

Einstein as a Physicist

Before visiting Einstein's apartment in Bern and the Einstein museum, I did not know much about Einstein outside of his tremendous work in Physics. The most surprising thing I learned was that he came up with the theory of special relativity while working 48 hours a week, 6 days a week, in a patent office. It was already unbelievable that he came up with the theories of special and general relativity, assuming that is all he was doing. Learning that he also had a full time job and came up with these incredible science-changing theories is unreal. Einstein had an incredible mind and introduced groundbreaking theories that we are still mulling over 100+ years later.
I also learned a lot about Einstein's personal life. I knew that he was not a great father/husband, but I did not know to what extent. I learned that Einstein paid little attention to his wives or children, and treated them poorly when he did pay attention to them. Not to mention that he divorced his wife for his cousin. However, had Einstein spent more time with his family it is hard to know if he would still have come up with the theory of relativity.

Einstein and his Personal Life

     One thing I learned at Einsteinhaus was that his personal life wasn’t all that it seemed to be. He got a women pregnant when they weren’t married which was taboo at the time. Then following he never met this child and there are no records as to what happened to her. This was supposed to be Einstein’s only daughter. Following the end of his so called high period he and his now wife divorced which I found interesting because I don’t think that that was looked highly upon at the time either. 

        I though that it was interesting that he did all of his work while working at the lowest level at the patent office and working in the late hours of the night. I learned that he not only took interest and wrote papers in one subject but knew four. He was a very intelligent man who did not seem to care for following structure and rules in the educational/work setting. 

History of Science Museum- Electricity as Entertainment

The History of Science Museum was very interesting and contained a wide variety of items as any museum with such a broad topic would. Our tour included visuals that I would not expect, including Portugal's flag (for it's armillary sphere in the background) and a tool for measuring the color of the sky. The end of the tour included fun demonstrations using electricity, including creating a human chain and sending a mild shock through all of us. Our guide explained that when scientists were first discovering how to manipulate electrons (called "charges" back then), none of them had any real idea of the revolutionary purpose that it would ultimately have. Alessandro Volta created the first battery and only really thought it was an interesting scientific feat, not something that would become revolutionary in it's practicality. I loved looking at the machines that created sparks and shocks used to entertain at parties, since science was fascinating and only the rich were privy to it. It's incredible to look at how times have changed and how much we rely on the electricity that we gained from the scientists who were simply exploring for the sake of knowledge.

Wimshurst machine: creates sparks between two wands when a handle is cranked 

Here is a demonstration and explanation: https://youtu.be/Zilvl9tS0Og

One of Alessandro Volta's first batteries.

Einstein’s Downfalls in Parenthood

During the visit to Albert Einstein’s historic residence in Bern, it was incredible to learn of his accomplishments in physics and his revolutionary view of the natural world between 1901 and 1907. But after reading of the extraordinary life of Madam Curie and other pioneering scientific women, hearing of the way he treated his first wife and children left something to be desired. To this day, the public is critical of high-achieving women and how they maintain their “duties” as a wife and mother while leading an enriching and fulfilling life while men are rarely questioned as to their involvement in their households. 

Einstein, for all intents and purposes, abandoned his first born child when his then girlfriend returned to her family home to give birth and she has disappeared from any written records. It is entirely probable that Einstein never made the effort to meet his child. After he married his wife, who cared immensely for him and stood by him during his turbulent and stressful time as a patent clerk, she gave birth to two sons. The latter had a series of medical problems, which Einstein seemed to treat only as a nuisance and a distraction from his work. His wife was therefore solely responsible for raising and taking care of the children while Einstein worked longer hours and gained notoriety in the scientific community. After his successful publishing of his theories in 1905, Einstein continued his pattern of inattention to his family as he developed a romantic relationship with his cousin. His marriage ended in a divorce by his request, and he lost contact with his two sons as well. 

The tour guide mentioned without much hesitation that Einstein was a brilliant man, but is often held on an unrealistic pedestal. His character he imposed in the office and the one he presented to those most dependent on him are in stark contrast to the physicist that is often revered as the most revolutionary figure in science since Newton. Though often described as a vivacious and playful young man, he left his family yearning for more of his time and energy as his fame consumed him. 

Einstein’s Personal Life

At both the Einstein house and museum I learn a lot about his personal life. Before the trip I knew Einstein was not very good to his wives and that for the most part physics was a priority. One thing I did not know about was that he had a daughter that he had never met. Lieserl was what they believe to be Einstein’s first daughter and he was never able to met her because by the time Albert was back with his family it seemed that his daughter had just disappeared. It is unsure if she was sick and had passed away or if she just left, but overall Einstein never met Lieserl. Another thing I did not know before the museum was that Albert ended up divorcing his first wife to be with his cousin. I knew Einstein had a few marriages and that they were not ideal marriages, but I did not know he was married to his cousin. After attending the museum and house it seemed that Albert had a pretty weird life.

CERN

Prior to the trip, I did not know what CERN was because I am not a huge math and science person. I thought that the facility contained a ton of information and it was easy for me to follow along with all the displays and understand what they were talking about. CERN is the acronym for European Organization for Nuclear Research and it has the worlds biggest (high energy) physics lab. I learned about the different accelerators, what countries are a part of CERN, and what CERN’s goals are. Their goals are to uncover what makes up the universe and how how the universe works. 

Higgs-Boson at CERN

At Cern I learned about the Higgs-Boson, which is a particle that has been searched for, researched and studied since 1964. It was not until July of 2012 that a team of scientists-one being Peter Higgs, finally found the missing particle in an experiment located inside the Large Hadron Collider in CERN. The Higgs particle essentially gives other particles their mass and is studied in the Higgs field of physics. I chose this topic because I had searched for lots of information on it in regards to our scavenger hunt, in CERN. Overall, CERN taught me a variety of interesting facts dealing with the universe formation and about the facility itself. The room located in the CERN dome was super fun to explore too.

Data Collection and Dissemination at CERN

CERN, the European Council for Nuclear Research, operates for approximately 10 hours per day. During peak performance, the four experimental data collection devices collect up to a billion particle collisions per second. All data collected is sorted by computer algorithms to refine the data to only pertinent, or significant data points. As millions of reactions occur each second in similar conditions, many of the individual events have repetitious outcomes that become insignificant due to their similarity and the knowledge previously derived from them. After filtering the information, data is sorted again into separate types of events. Categorization of events allow further data analysis to be performed more efficiently and with more significance to researchers. Even with these applied filters, this equates to an excess of 20 Terabytes of collected data per day. 

Before the invention of the Worldwide Web, developed and instituted by CERN as a new method of data dissemination and a standardized format for computers to communicate, this data was collected on 1 Terabyte disks, saturating the storage of each disk in about 30 minutes. Each disk retained data of 600,000 proton-proton collisions and these disks, including the copies produced for redundancy, were stored in the CERN facility for analysis and posterity. Tim Berners-Lee invented the “web” in 1989 upon noting the difficulty that independent researchers had with sharing their collected findings with one another during their visits to CERN. Using hypertext, or later HTML, and inspired by the success of the developing internet, Berners-Lee developed the first server and web browser for use inside CERN. His work was released for public use in 1991. 

The data at CERN has since been integrated to the Worldwide Web to aid in communication and understanding for students and researchers across the globe. The 1 Terabyte tapes are now available for sale in the CERN gift shop as they no longer serve a relevant purpose at the facility. 

SREF- The Caretaking of Women During Childbirth in 17-19th Century Europe

One of the more disturbing aspects of the History of Medicine Museum was the treatment of women during childbirth during what was considered a medical revolution. While the mistreatment of women by medical professionals is, unfortunately, nothing new, the scientific advancements regarding gynecology and childbirth in the 17-18th centuries were nothing short of barbaric.

The instruments that were used on women’s genitals included large, wide metal speculums and tools designed to aid in the removal of the infants, some of which featured sharp edges or points that could easily cause harm or pain to the mother. Repositioning the fetus inside the mother to ensure that the birth had as few complications as possible was imperative, but these tools would likely break skin in already sensitive regions and introduce pathogens into the mother’s system.

Fatalities of both the mother and the infant were not uncommon, but while the beginning of a new life is something to be celebrated, the carelessness which physicians exhibited toward caring for the mother and her wellbeing is horrendous. The act of birth is perilous enough, even with the institution of modern medicine and without unsanitary and painful tools being applied to the process. Taking care of the mother during this time period would have ensured that if the child survived birth, it would have had a supply of food and care during its most vulnerable time. But lack of sanitization and caution exposed her to bacteria and other sources of stress that could compromise both of their lives.

Linguistic Accessibility in Europe

One of the most poignant differences I have noticed in Italy is that they extend themselves more towards the tourists they host. In juxtaposition to the States, where product packaging has some of the most linguistically diverse text that can be found in daily life, Italian resources have often featured multiple languages for their patrons. Whether this be written throughout museum exhibits, spoken by tour guides, or offered through prerecorded headset tapes, multiple historically significant sites have catered to tourists and non-native speakers. This makes their cities more inhabitable and easier to navigate for people visiting them. Many people, even those not in customer service, speak two or more languages and signs are often complemented by universal diagrams or pictographs to explain their meaning. Where compatible, the infrastructure and implementation of accessible ramps, elevators, and Braille inscriptions is more typical as well.

The significance of this difference may be based on the geographical complexity of Europe as compared to the US. The densely packed European countries and their respective languages could require inhabitants and resources to be understood more easily across language barriers. But to that point, the two nations bordering the States speak other languages that are not taken into consideration for signage, even in larger cities that would host more tourists. A sentiment I have heard expressed is the idea that people should exclusively speak English when in the US as it is our national language and it better suits our needs and abilities. But from the other side of the scenario, the hostility that presents when directed at someone who is already in an unfamiliar place and in an unusual situation is appalling. The prevalence of English speakers and signage in Italy has enabled me to independently experience the country in ways I could not have if they embraced that same sentiment.

CERN is Cool

Hi Adam’s Mom!

One of my favorite parts of this trip was going to CERN. I learned a lot about the Large Hadron Collider and the four particle detectors within it: ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, and LHCb. I think this machine is incredible. Not only is it the highest energy particle accelerator in the world, it’s also THE largest machine in the world. I was bummed out that we couldn’t see the LHC in person, but seeing the replicas of some of its parts and the cross section showing its superconducting electromagnets was still super cool. Something I learned was that in order to operate properly, these magnets have to be cooled to -271.3 degrees Celsius, nearly absolute zero.
Aside from the LHC itself, I also learned a lot about the discoveries and advancements that took place at CERN. For example, the World Wide Web was invented by a scientist at CERN to allow physicists to share information internationally. Additionally, the existence of the Higgs Boson was proven using the ATLAS and CMS detectors within the LHC at CERN. The interactive displays in the Universe of Particles building did a great job of explaining how to comprehend the size and scale of things ranging from quarks to the largest known parts of the universe. The exhibit even explained the String Theory and showed cool phenomena like muon detection. Overall, CERN is super cool and I’ll likely be going back tomorrow to absorb more information.

Corrected view of the Higgs Boson

When the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012, I heard about it, and understood it to be the particle responsible for gravity. The trip to CERN has corrected my understanding. I read the following at the visiter center.
"Higgs Boson: this is probably physics's most searched for particle over the last 40 years. 
Yet for something so sought-after, the particle itself doesn't actually do very much! The reason the Higgs boson interests us is because it's existence is evidence of the BEH (Brout-Englert-Higgs) field that explains why fundamental particles have a mass. 
The existence of an excited state of the BEH field - the Higgs boson - was predicted in 1964 by Peter Higgs and it was discovered at CERN by experiments at the large hadron collider on 2012."

On further displays it pursues the implication of the BEH field. The idea comes from why we see select quantities of mass in particles. Trying to understand why we don't see a continuous range of masses in subatomic particles. To which it poses the question of maybe there are but in parallel universes.

To conclude: I clarified that the Higgs boson is an instance of the BEH field being excited. Proving that the theory behind the BEH field has truth. Also that the theory is about why matter has mass.

CERN

One of the hooks of the History of Science and Technology in Europe course was the opportunity to visit CERN. One topic of interest I learned about was the detectors used in the labs. In one of the Universe of Particles cases, small pieces of a material called scintillators were on display. During previous research this summer, I utilized a different kind of scintillator (a material that fluoresces when stuck by a charged particle or high energy photon). I enjoyed reading about how these materials are being used to help solve the greatest scientific questions of the universe.

CERN- antimatter

While a lot of the mechanics and physics of the machines at CERN went right over my head, it’s easy to see that it is an amazing place doing incredible research. The Higgs Boson is something I had vaguely heard of but hadn’t realized the importance of until I read about it at CERN. The most fascinating things that I learned about, however, were the ideas of antimatter and the mysteries surrounding why matter was favored after the Big Bang. I also had no idea that a substance called dark matter makes up so much of our universe, and that people at CERN are able to experiment with antimatter. The idea of antimatter seems to come straight out of science fiction and is really interesting to know it potentially holds the key to unlocking knowledge about our creation and the mysteries of now.

CERN

I'm not going to lie, I did not know exactly what CERN was when I saw it on the itinerary before coming to Switzerland. I learned that CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research. They have the largest particle accelerator. I also learned that they conduct a lot of physic studies on particles, matter, and space. One thing that I found particularly interesting was the big dome where when you walk in and it is set up to mimic space. It was very information dense and I learned more about space, matrices, matter, etc.

CERN

While at CERN, I learned a lot about the experiments that are conducted there. Before visiting CERN, I knew that particles were accelerated to very high speeds and smashed into each other. I did not know that there are actually four major detectors of these collisions. I learned that, in order to prove the existence of a new particle, both the ATLAS and CMS detectors need to detect the particle. Both ATLAS and CMS detect the presence of particles using different methods. Having two detectors that have different detection technologies ensures that the particle wasn't a fluke if it was detected in both detectors. The other two major detectors are ALICE and LHCb which are more specialized than the ATLAS and CMS detectors.

Cern

One thing I have learned at CERN, is how much energy to takes to get a proton up to 99.99% of the speed of light. The proton has to travel a very distance to get up to speed. In my mind I just thought one could have a straight stretch and then just feed the proton energy until it has enough. But they talk about why they used the many circle design. It uses centripetal force to accelerate the proton, and that saves on energy usage. The most important aspect in this circular design, is overall energy loss. The smaller the radius, the higher the rate of energy loss. That’s why CERN is a gigantic circle.

CERN

    One thing I learned at CERN was that particle accelerators relate the E=mc2 equation. The particles are sped up to move fast enough so that they don’t break down right away and can be seen. This means the mass can be found. At CERN they’re currently running five different experiments. One of the experiments I read about weights about 14000 tons which is equivalent to two Eiffel towers. I was amazed that so much is being done and the vast majority of people don’t get the chance to see it. The expanse of CERN is amazing we don’t even get the chance to see it as it is all underground and they don’t let people down in the workspaces for obvious reasons. I just think the magnitude is amazing and I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit.

CERN

As a chemistry major attending CERN I did not know much besides the basics that I have learned from others on this trip. So, today I learned a lot about particle accelerators and all the fascinating experiments conducted at CERN. One thing I found very interesting was that the invention of web was created at CERN for particle physicist to share data with other researchers. Going into CERN I was fully expecting the nuclear research and the different experiments that lead to how the world works, but not the world wide web. It is interesting that something that is as very common as the web was originally created for scientists to share their data.