Fritz Haber Institute as one of the „Quantum Sites in Germany"
In 2025 the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft (DPG)) celebrated the 100th anniversary of quantum mechanics. Within the framework of the “year of quantum”, 100 research institutions in Germany were selected as “quantum sites” for their significant contributions to quantum science - the Fritz Haber Institute was also chosen.
100 years of quantum mechanics — UNESCO used this anniversary to worldwide declare 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. In Germany, the German Physical Society (Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, DPG) took the lead in organizing the anniversary year and, through its Quantum2025 campaign, brought the importance of quantum research into the public spotlight. Under the motto ‘Quantum2025 – 100 years are only the beginning…,’ various events and activities took place during the Quantum Year. The selection of 100 quantum locations in Germany was also part of the program.
From quantum leap to revolution
One hundred years ago, quantum mechanics was essentially born, when in 1925 Werner Heisenberg succeeded in mathematically formulating this new physical theory. His approach, known as “matrix mechanics,” made quantum mechanics calculable. In the following years, quantum physics experienced a true golden age.
“The extension of classical mechanics to quantum mechanics was certainly no ‘quantum leap’ - since quantum leaps are very, very small - but rather a true leap in insight: the way new scientific territory was entered and won here was simply revolutionary.” - said DPG President Klaus Richter at the opening of the Quantum Year in January 2025 at Humboldt University of Berlin.
Today, quantum mechanics is indispensable for the physical description of our world - in all dimensions: It not only explains the behavior of the smallest elementary particles but, as we now know, also influences the distribution of galaxies in the universe. Technologies based on quantum physics are also integral to our everyday lives. From the laser at the supermarket checkout to smartphones and tablets to MRI machines in hospitals - the technical use of quantum-mechanical phenomena is ubiquitous.
Quantum science at the Fritz Haber Institute
Due to its historical contributions to quantum mechanics, the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society was selected as one of the 100 quantum sites in Germany. From 1928 to 1933, important discoveries were made here that contributed to the development of quantum mechanical theories, including the experimental confirmation of the two isomers of hydrogen (ortho- and para-hydrogen) in 1929. The experimental measurement of stimulated emission - the physical phenomenon that forms the basis of the laser and had been postulated by Albert Einstein 12 years earlier - was also achieved here, in a laboratory of the former Department of Atomic Physics under Rudolf Ladenburg. These and other discoveries advanced the transition from classical physical chemistry to chemical physics, which examines chemical processes from a physical perspective.
Also today, the Fritz Haber Institute continues to conduct quantum research, for instance in the areas of ultracold atoms and molecules, quantum simulation, and the control of chemical reactions with light. Researchers in these projects harness quantum effects to open up new avenues for chemistry and materials science.
Berlin: An ecosystem for quantum research
In the 1920s - the golden age of quantum mechanics - Berlin, with its many renowned research institutions, was a world-leading center of science. Researchers such as Albert Einstein, Fritz Haber, Werner Heisenberg, Max Planck, and Lise Meitner worked here, revolutionizing physics and, with it, the worldview of the time. Even today, Berlin is one of Germany’s largest scientific hubs, with its three universities and numerous non-university research institutions. And quantum research remains a core element here. It’s no wonder that in the greater Berlin area, in addition to the Fritz Haber Institute, there are eleven other quantum sites.
The 12 quantum sites in the Berlin area:
Fritz Haber Institute of ther Max Planck Society
Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam (Albert Einstein Institute)
Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Physics
Technische Hochschule Wildau
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY)
Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin
Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy
Berlin Quantum
Physikalisch-Technische-Bundesanstalt (PTB)
Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI)
Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM)
Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS)
