Student
1920er & 1930er year
Hans is a student who was captivated by Pohl’s introductory lecture and is now working on his doctorate at the 1st Physics Institute at Göttingen University. He explains why he found the lecture so fascinating and offers additional insight into Pohl’s life, including his response to the political emergence of National Socialism.
Lecture Hall Technician
1950er & 1960er year
Gerd is a lecture hall technician who invites us to his workplace and describes the process of preparing for a lecture presentation. Technicians were an integral part of successful lectures even in Pohl’s time, using their knowledge and experience to set up experiments and special devices such as Pohl’s indispensible carbon arc lamp.
Teacher
Michael is a teacher who used Pohl’s physics textbook while studying at Göttingen and continues to use it now with his own students. Michael was so impressed by the experimental lectures conducted by Pohl’s successors that he regularly describes these events to his pupils, sometimes even recreating the demonstrations in the classroom.
Lecturer
Sabine is a lecturer at the University of Göttingen where she and several of her colleagues are now responsible for the introductory experimental physics lecture. She discusses what has changed since Pohl’s era and describes the role played by demonstration experiments in contemporary lectures. Comments from Sabine, other lecturers and students are all presented here.
Although this digital exhibition is structured chronologically, you can also approach it thematically. The interactive graphics provide access to over 100 years of physics teaching, presented through the perceptions of four characters. Explore the impressions of Hans the student (yellow), the observations of lecture hall technician Gerd (blue), the experiences of Michael the teacher (red) and the reflections of Sabine, the university lecturer (purple).
