EPS Historic Site: The Laboratorium in Bergara
On October 20th 2018, the Laboratorium in Bergara was officially declared an Historic Site of the European Physical Society.
Bergara is a small town located in the hilly landscape of the Spanish Basque Country, roughly 60 km from Donostia – San Sebastián and a similar distance from Bilbao. In 2018, Bergara is celebrating the 750th anniversary of its foundation. The city center still keeps its medieval character and hosts several Renaissance buildings. A most important milestone in the scientific activity developed in the past in Bergara was the discovery of Wolframium (as it was initially called) or Tungsten (as it became known later) by the Elhuyar Brothers in 1783. It was the greatest achievement of an accelerated process of scientific and technological development, led by the Enlightenment principles and embodied in the Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country and the Seminary of Vergara it promoted.
The heritage of the Elhuyar Brothers is kept today in the Laboratorium, a museum with a beautiful collection of ancient scientific instruments, surrounded by a wonderful garden of the XIXth century with many botanical species from all continents. The role of today’s Laboratorium, however, goes well beyond its permanent exhibition thanks to the numerous outreach activities developed. Its main objective is to contribute to the advancement and progress of society, based on the essential principles of science, heritage, and education.
The isolation of Wolframium is one of the most important achievements of European science in the last third of the XVIIIth Century. Tungsten is the metallic element with the highest melting point (3695 K) and second highest boiling point (6203 K). It is widely used in alloys both for high-temperature applications and for improving materials strength, in electronic contacts, and in the thermal isolation of smartphone touchscreens. In basic research, tungsten plays a key role in the construction of the experimental fusion reactor ITER, in several heterogeneous catalysis processes, in the physics of several two-dimensional materials, and in some key experiments in attosecond physics in condensed matter.
The ceremony held in Bergara on October 20th incorporated an extensive list of institutional representatives, including the President of the Basque Country, Government, Iñigo Urkullu, the President of EPS, Rüdiger Voss, the Past President of EPS, Christophe P. Rossel, the President of the Gipuzkoa Province Council, Markel Olano, the Mayor of Bergara, Elena Lete, and the President of DIPC, Pedro Miguel Echenique. About 80 participants in the 3rd EPS International Conference on the History of Physics (chaired by Ikerbasque Professor Jaume Navarro) also attended the ceremony, as well as many Bergara residents and visitors. The outcome was a well-attended social event, played out in a festive atmosphere, recognising in a great way the achievement of the Elhuyar Brothers and the perennial role of science and technology in the advancement of society.
