Four-legged, dog-like robot ‘sniffs’ hazardous gases in inaccessible environments

Portable mass spectrometry for on-site detection of hazardous volatile organic compounds via robotic extractive sampling

12-Jun-2024 - Nightmare material or truly man’s best friend? A team of researchers equipped a dog-like quadruped robot with a mechanized arm that takes air samples from potentially treacherous situations, such as an abandoned building or fire. The robot dog walks samples to a person who screens them for ...

Mirror image molecules reveal drought stress in forests

Ecosystem changes can be more accurately predicted by emissions of chiral compounds

09-Sep-2022 - Worldwide, plants emit about 100 million tonnes of monoterpenes into the atmosphere each year. These volatile organic molecules include many fragrances such as the molecule pinene – known for its pine fresh scent. Since these molecules are highly reactive and can form tiny aerosol particles that ...

Detecting nanoplastics in the air

“Nanoplastics are a major concern if they’re in the air that you breathe, getting into your lungs and potentially causing health problems”

29-Aug-2022 - Large pieces of plastic can break down into nanosized particles that often find their way into the soil and water. Perhaps less well known is that they can also float in the air. It’s unclear how nanoplastics impact human health, but animal studies suggest they’re potentially harmful. As a step ...

Technological innovation: The smallest particle sensor in the world

Compact and energy-efficient sensor for mobile devices, informs in real time about the fine dust content in the air and warns in case of elevated values

25-Sep-2020 - It is slightly smaller than two one-cent coins stacked on top of each other, is particularly energy-efficient due to its size, requires no maintenance and can be integrated in mobile devices. It is the smallest particle sensor in the world. With this 12 x 9 x 3 millimetre innovation, smartphones, ...

A chemical criterion for rating movies

The isoprene concentration in the air is an objective indicator for setting the age rating of films

15-Oct-2018 - A measurable criterion now exists for determining the age rating of films. A group of scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz has found that the concentration of isoprene in cinema air correlates with the cinema industry‘s voluntary classification of films. Evidently, the ...

“Airpocalypse” explained

The causes of China’s record level fine particulate pollution in winter 2013

25-Sep-2014 - At the beginning of 2013 a greyish-brown blanket of smog lay over large areas of China for several months. The fine particle pollution was higher by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude than the levels normally measured in Western Europe and the United States. An international team of researchers under the ...

Ethanol fireplaces: the underestimated risk

03-Sep-2014 - Ethanol fireplaces are becoming more and more popular. However, they are not only highly combustible – in the past, severe accents have occurred repeatedly with decorative fireplaces. The devices also pollute the air in the rooms. This has been proven by a recent Fraunhofer study. Wood-burning ...

Worldwide increase of air pollution

Atmospheric model calculates changes in air quality over the coming decades

06-Aug-2012 - Hot summer days cause in large cities very seldom great happiness among inhabitants. On those days the air is highly polluted with automobile and industrial emissions what makes breathing difficult and unhealthy. According to the latest calculations of Max Planck scientist Andrea Pozzer this ...

Scientists measure soot particles in flight

29-Jun-2012 - For the first time, air-polluting soot particles have been imaged in flight down to nanometre resolution. Pioneering a new technique, the international team, including researchers from DESY, snapped the most detailed images yet of airborne aerosols. “For the first time we can actually see the ...