Physikalisches Kolloquium: Measurement uncertainties – a historical excursion into our discipline’s heritage

Veranstaltungseinladung als pdf-Download.

Kurzfassung: 

„Lastly, do not forget to indicate the error of the measurement or of the calculated value, respectively.“ – This common requirement is well known to us from publications or laboratory reports, maybe even from measurements taken in physics classes at school. To many learners in physics, this practice merely seems like an inevitable routine as a part of a scientific habitus.

Taking a deeper look into the history and the roots of scientific measurement over the past 2500 years might aid to treasure and value this diligent but routine piece of work for its real worth – as the uncerntainty of our knowledge has in many aspects of scientific endavour played a central part in knowledge gain. The talk will accent some historical incidences and conceptual developments that can be interpreted as milestones of our understanding of the importance of the consideration of uncertainty in measurement.

Biographie: Studies in physics (Bonn, Cape Town, Oldenburg); Graduation in 2009 / Doctoral studies in Physics Education (Oldenburg); Graduation in 2012 / Postdoc position (Oldenburg) / Junior Professorship in 2014 (Münster) / Professorship since 2016 (Münster) / Teacher for physics since 2019 (Münster, Gymnasium). Research fields: error culture in the education of physics, interest in physics and physics lessons, visualization as learning strategy, development of teaching material, inclusive science lessons.