Volatile organic hydrocarbons from road traffic, agriculture, refrigerants and solvents can turn into particles which lead to cloud formation. In Finland, Lukas Pichelstorfer is working on simulation models in order to understand how gases released by human activities react in the atmosphere and how this affects climate and air quality. Continue reading “Calculating a gap in atmospheric chemistry”
The image of ancient Egypt is strongly influenced by tombs of members of royalty and the elite. The relevance of tombs of the common people has long been underestimated. Research conducted at the “Necropolis of Helwan”, the largest ancient cemetery of its time, illustrates the importance of the individual and provides both insights into the origins of stone working and points of reference for fine-tuning the chronology. Continue reading “Ancient cemetery without pomp and glory provides new insights”
The philosopher Gerhard Thonhauser investigates the behaviour of spectators at sports events to help him better understand group dynamics. He challenges prejudices, including claims that crowds are irrational or that emotion must be divorced from reason. This also entails consequences for politics. Continue reading “When a crowd makes smart decisions in the heat of the moment”
As the “King of Swing”, clarinettist and bandleader Benny Goodman was the archetypical representative of the US entertainment industry in the late 1930s. It is less well known that he also made a name for himself in the sphere of classical music, especially in the USA. The Schrödinger fellow Elisabeth Reisinger explores that side of Goodman’s career on the US East Coast. Continue reading “The most intellectual of US rivers”
Wittgenstein Award winner Adrian Constantin is fascinated by the multifarious patterns of movement in the atmosphere and oceans of the Earth. Using the tools of his field of expertise, mathematician Constantin, who conducts research and teaches at the University of Vienna, wants to get to the bottom of these phenomena, which depend on innumerable factors. Continue reading “Understanding the Earth’s system of waves and currents”
In the course of its history, Europe experienced many epidemics before Corona. For centuries, states have sought to contain them through active countermeasures. The Graz-based historian Christian Promitzer explored how scourges such as plague and cholera were combatted under the Habsburg Empire in the 19th century, finding some parallels with today. Continue reading “Social distancing under the Habsburg Empire”
