  Clusters of galaxies can be seen as giant astrophysical laboratories
enclosing matter in a large enough volume, so that the matter composition can
be taken as representing the composition of our Universe. X-ray observations
allow a very precise investigation of the physical properties of the
intracluster plasma allowing us to probe probe the cluster structure, determine
its total mass, and measure the baryon fraction in clusters and in the Universe
as a whole. We can determine the abundance of heavy elements from O to Ni which
originate from supernova explosions and draw from this important conclusions on
the history of star formation in the cluster galaxy population. From the
entropy structure of the intracluster medium we obtain constraints on the
energy release during early star bursts. With the observational capabilities of
the X-ray observatories XMM-Newton and Chandra this field of research is
rapidly evolving. In particular, first detailed observations of the
intracluster medium of the Virgo cluster around M87 have provided new insights.
The present contribution gives an account of the current implications of the
intracluster medium observations, but more importantly illustrates the
prospects of this research for the coming years.
