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Air, clouds, climate - some physical basics about the atmosphere

Begin: End: Location: Hörsaalgebäude II, Hörsaal 1 und 2
Event type:
  • Veranstaltungen
  • Brötchen-und-Borussia
© Hesham Elsherif​/​TU Dortmund
Portrait von Heinz Hövel
Lecture in the series "Brötchen und Borussia" by apl. Prof. Heinz Hövel, Department of Physics, TU Dortmund University.

The gases in the atmosphere and water in the form of clouds in the sky contain exciting physics. Radiation from the sun provides the energy that drives the dynamics in our atmosphere. Powerful thermodynamic processes create the harmless-looking fleecy clouds in the summer sky and can carry gliders hundreds of kilometers. With only small changes in the atmosphere, the same processes create threatening storm clouds with lightning and hail. The increase in carbon dioxide concentration generated by fossil fuels influences the energy balance in the atmosphere and thus our climate. The underlying physical phenomena are explained and demonstrated with experiments.

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