Research

The acidity of molecules can be easily determined, but until now it was not possible to measure this important property for atoms on a surface. By combining a new microscopy technique and quantum chemical calculations, this has now been achieved. The degree of acidity or alkalinity of a substance...

Chemists at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg publish a breakthrough in magnesium chemistry in the highly renowned journal Nature. Magnesium (Mg) is an earth abundant early main group metal of low electronegativity that easily loses it’s both valence electrons. In combination w...

The Open Research Challenge 2020, organised by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), invited young researchers from around the world to submit innovative and creative ideas to remove incorrect and outdated entries in the largest database used in the field of paleontology. The winn...

FAU research team investigate new star-forming region

Environmental pollution caused by microplastics and nanoplastics is a ubiquitous problem which cannot be tackled using currently available cleaning concepts. Researchers at FAU have now demonstrated how magnets could be used to remove plastic particles of various types and sizes from water. They ...

The kick-off meeting of the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio TRR 306 "QuCoLiMa" (Quantum Cooperativity of Light and Matter) took place digitally on Friday, March 19, 2021. TRR 306 QuCoLiMa was established beginning of this year, together with the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Ligh...

An international team of researchers has now demonstrated for the first time that high-energy cosmic rays are formed in the area surrounding massive stars. Their observations provide new insights into how cosmic rays are formed and develop. The results of this research, in which an astrophysicist fr...

Chemists all over the world are constantly searching for simple ways to make elemental nitrogen or N2 in the air available for chemical reactions. This is no easy task, as nitrogen is a particularly non-reactive gas with a triple bond, which is one of the strongest known chemical bonds. A research t...

Why are the red, yellow, and blue colours used in the world’s oldest knotted-pile carpet still so vivid and bright, even after almost two and a half thousand years? Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg have now been able to uncover the secrets behind the so-called Pazyryk...

The human race is becoming increasingly mobile and long commutes to the workplace are the norm. At the same time, the amount of goods sent via the road network continues to rise. This is causing established transport systems to quickly reach their limits. To relieve the pressure on these systems, th...