Helmut Rauch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helmut Rauch
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Helmut Rauch in Budapest, 2013
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| Born | 22 January 1939 Krems an der Donau, Austria, Nazi Germany
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| Died | 2 September 2019 (aged 80) Vienna, Austria
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| Nationality | Austrian |
| Alma mater | Vienna University of Technology |
| Awards | Wilhelm Exner Medal (1985) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Doctoral students | Anton Zeilinger |
Helmut Rauch was an important Austrian physicist. He lived from 1939 to 2019. He was especially known for his amazing experiments with tiny particles called neutrons. These experiments helped us understand how the universe works.
Helmut Rauch studied Physics at the Vienna University of Technology. He also worked at a special institute there. He worked with other important science centers too, like the Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Institut Laue-Langevin.
A famous scientist named Anton Zeilinger won the Nobel Prize in 2022. He was taught by Helmut Rauch. In his Nobel Prize speech, Zeilinger said that Rauch taught him something important. He learned that sometimes an idea can be right, even if the first reasons for it seem wrong. This means that gut feelings, or 'intuition,' can be very powerful in science.
Experiments with Neutrons
In 1974, Helmut Rauch worked with two other scientists, Ulrich Bonse and Wolfgang Treimer. They did a groundbreaking experiment. They showed for the first time that neutrons act like waves.
What are Neutrons?
Neutrons are tiny particles found inside atoms. Before this experiment, scientists knew that light (made of photons) could act like waves. But showing that neutrons, which have mass, also act like waves was a big deal! It proved that everything in the universe, even tiny particles, can have wave-like properties.
Spin and Symmetry
Their experiments also showed something called "spin." Neutrons have a property called spin, like a tiny spinning top. Rauch's work helped prove a basic rule about how these spinning particles behave. It showed their fundamental symmetry when they are rotated.
Later Life and Legacy
Helmut Rauch passed away on September 2, 2019, when he was 80 years old. He died in Vienna after a short illness. His work changed how we understand the world at a very tiny level. His experiments are still important today for scientists studying quantum physics.
