Alexander von Humboldt

Foundations of Quantum Theory: From Classical Concepts to Operator Algebras (Fundamental Theories of Physics Book 188) 1st ed. 2017 Edition, Kindle EditionThis book studies the foundations of quantum theory through its relationship to classical physics. This idea goes back to the Copenhagen Interpretation (in the original version due to Bohr…

I'm reading Andrea Wulf's bio of Alexander von Humboldt, and there is a discussion of Humboldt's large graphical representations of nature and ecology which he referred to as 'naturgemälde.' So apparently gemälde means portrait or picture, or something like that ... but are there nuances here that are escaping my…

Our quality of life is largely supported by materials innovations providing for instance advanced electronic, optical, thermal, or structural properties. Unfortunately, many of present‐day advanced materials are sourced from nonsustainable resources, have high energy demands in their production, and face technical or economic obstacles in their recycling, which has a…

Introduction Limited Li resources in the earth's crust (20 ppm) and the ever‐increasing demands for large‐scale electrical energy storage have stimulated numerous efforts for alternative energy storage systems beyond the state‐of‐the‐art Li‐ion batteries.1 K‐ion based energy storage systems, such as K‐ion batteries or related hybrid capacitors, have recently emerged as promising…

Maintaining indoor temperature in a suitable range through cooling in summer and heating in winter is a necessity of modern life. However, current effective cooling and heating methods, e.g., air conditioners and combustion heating, not only consume large amounts of energy—around 32–33% of worldwide energy use, but also cause various…

Maintaining indoor temperature in a suitable range through cooling in summer and heating in winter is a necessity of modern life. However, current effective cooling and heating methods, e.g., air conditioners and combustion heating, not only consume large amounts of energy—around 32–33% of worldwide energy use, but also cause various…

Bloodsucker, leech, tick – few things have a reputation worse than parasites. But these biological hangers-on also have a comic cultural history. In biology, a parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food (or other benefits) from (or at the expense of)…

Black nitrogen is formed when nitrogen is placed in a diamond stamp cell between opposite diamonds and pressed together under extremely high pressures. Photo: Christian Wißler. In the periodic table of elements there is one golden rule for carbon, oxygen and other light elements: Under high pressures, they have similar…

In the periodic table of elements there is one golden rule for carbon, oxygen, and other light elements. Under high pressures they have similar structures to heavier elements in the same group of elements. Only nitrogen always seemed unwilling to toe the line. However, high-pressure researchers of the University of…

If you happened to find yourself in 17th-century Naples, you were in for a rough time. The Plague of 1656 was in full swing and would claim an estimated 300,000 lives in Naples alone. If you were one of the unlucky souls to come down with the buboes and high…