The Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) is the Physics department of Leiden University, The Netherlands. It is comprised of 40 research groups divided over three research sections: Biological and Soft Matter Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics, and Theoretical Physics. Two physicists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics whilst working at LION. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1913) researched material behaviour at ultra-low temperatures and discovered liquid helium, and Hendrik Lorentz (1902) played a major role in the development of Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity. The most prestigious Dutch science award, the NWO Spinozapremie, has been awarded three times to a professor at LION. Carlo Beenakker (1999), Jan Zaanen (2006) and Dirk Bouwmeester (2014) received the highest honour in Dutch science.

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Niels Bohrweg 2 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
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http://physics.leidenuniv.nl/

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'Raindrops on the roof-technique' reveals new quantum liquid

Koen Bastiaans and his colleagues have discovered a new quantum liquid unlike anything ever seen. They did it by using a technique that can be compared to listening to the sound of raindrops falling on a roof.

Physicists invent printable superconducting device

Superconducting devices such as SQUIDS (Superconducting Quantum Interferometry Device) can perform ultra-sensitive measurements of magnetic fields. Leiden physicsts invented a method to 3-D-print these and other superconducting ...

Gravitational lenses measure universe expansion

It's one of the big cosmology debates: The universe is expanding, but how fast exactly? Two available measurements yield different results. Leiden physicist David Harvey adapted an independent third measurement method using ...

Topological quantities flow

Topology is an emerging field within many scientific disciplines, even leading to a Nobel Physics Prize in 2016. Leiden physicist Marcello Caio and his colleagues have now discovered the existence of topological currents ...

Bending DNA costs less energy than assumed

The way DNA folds largely determines which genes are read out. John van Noort and his group have quantified how easily rolled-up DNA parts stack. This costs less energy than previously assumed. Publication in Biophysical ...

Determining the shape of cells

Cells are constantly performing small tasks such as repairing wounds. They exert force by changing shape. But how do cells translate their shape into exerting a force in a specific direction? Experimental and theoretical ...

A mysterious insulating phenomenon in a superconductor

Leiden physicist Milan Allan and his group have discovered an apparent paradox within a material that has zero electrical resistance. They report trapped charges, although charges should, in theory, keep flowing in the absence ...

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