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Without fossil fuels, there can be no blast furnace process - but hydrogen could play a more important role in the future. An environmentally friendly process is being developed at TU Wien by which biomass can be used to produce a hydrogen-rich gas that can then be employed in various ways in the iron and steel industry.

Assessing old bridges using modern standards is no mean feat. Studies conducted by TU Wien show that many bridges are actually significantly more stable than might be expected, often rendering costly restoration work unnecessary. Deciding which bridges need to be restored in the near future and which are still in good condition can have extremely expensive repercussions.

The 'quantized magneto-electric effect' has been demonstrated for the first time in topological insulators at TU Wien, which is set to open up new and highly accurate methods of measurement. A light wave sent through empty space always oscillates in the same direction. However, certain materials can be used to rotate the direction in which the light is oscillating when placed in a magnetic field.

A new way to characterize many-particle quantum systems has been presented in the journal "Nature" by TU Wien (Vienna) and Heidelberg University. Quantum simulators can now be used to take a deeper look at previously unanswered questions. What happened right after the beginning of the universe? How can we understand the structure of quantum materials' How does the Higgs-Mechanism work? Such fundamental questions can only be answered using quantum field theories.

How can we burn natural gas without releasing CO2 into the air? This feat is achieved using a special combustion method that TU Wien has been researching for years: chemical looping combustion (CLC). In this process, CO2 can be isolated during combustion without having to use any additional energy, which means it can then go on to be stored.

Asphalt does not last forever. At some point, it ages and starts to crumble. This has to do with the bitumen, the sticky binding agent, which holds and keeps the rock content in the asphalt. Bitumen is a petroleum product consisting of several organic components, which undergo a chemical change over time.

Two-dimensional materials, or 2D materials for short, are extremely versatile, although - or often more precisely because - they are made up of just one or a few layers of atoms. Graphene is the best-known 2D material. Molybdenum disulphide (a layer consisting of molybdenum and sulphur atoms that is three-atoms thick) also falls in this category, although, unlike graphene, it has semiconductor properties.

Diamonds with minute flaws could play a crucial role in the future of quantum technology. For some time now, researchers at TU Wien have been studying the quantum properties of such diamonds, but only now have they succeeded in coupling the specific defects in two such diamonds with one another. This is an important prerequisite for the development of new applications, such as highly sensitive sensors and switches for quantum computers.

Nowadays we communicate via radio signals and send electrical pulses through long cables. This could change soon, however: Scientists have been working intensely on developing methods for quantum information transfer. This would enable tap-proof data transfer or, one day, even the linking of quantum computers.

In order for a fuel cell to work, it needs an oxidising agent. TU Wien has now found a way to explain why oxygen does not always enter fuel cells effectively, rendering them unusable. Fuel cells use a simple chemical reaction, such as the combination of oxygen and hydrogen to form water, to generate electricity.

The analysis of the minutest quantities of pharmaceutical samples is of crucial importance for the research and synthesis of new medications. At the moment it represents a technical challenge, but a new infrared method of measurement developed by TU Wien in collaboration with two research groups from Copenhagen may remedy this.

Using new computer algorithms, it is possible to adjust specific properties of three-dimensional objects, such as the sounds they produce or how stable they are. The thickness of a piece of metal made into different animal shapes - including a giraffe and a fish - is adjusted by using a computer algorithm in such a way that a specific sound spectrum is exhibited when the objects are struck.

A group of scientists from TU Wien and ETH Zurich have succeeded in their attempts to generate ultrashort terahertz light pulses.

Dye synthesis in nothing but water instead of toxic solvents - researchers at TU Wien develop a highly efficient and environmentally friendly synthesis for organic pigments. Fabian Zechmeister (left) and Maximilian Raab (right) demonstrate the fluorescence of a perylene bisimide solution Inside front cover of the current issue of Chemical Communications.

Dye synthesis in nothing but water instead of toxic solvents - researchers at TU Wien develop a highly efficient and environmentally friendly synthesis for organic pigments. Fabian Zechmeister (left) and Maximilian Raab (right) demonstrate the fluorescence of a perylene bisimide solution Inside front cover of the current issue of Chemical Communications.

Surprising direction-dependent effects emerge when light is guided in microscopic structures. This discovery shows promise for both classical and quantum information processing Recently, surprising physical effects were observed using special microscopic waveguides for light. Such "photonic structures" currently are revolutionizing the fields of optics and photonics, and have opened up the new research area of "Chiral Quantum Optics".

Neurotransmitter transporters are some of the most popular transport proteins in research as they play a major role in the processing of signals in the brain. A joint study by TU Wien and the Medical University of Vienna has now successfully demonstrated for the first time the structural impact of membrane lipids on medically relevant serotonin transporters.

Nuclear spin tomography is an application in (human) medicine known from medical institutions. The patient absorbs and re-emits electromagnetic radiation in all directions in space. They are detected and 3D images or 2D slice images are reconstructed from that data. Set in the framework of a fundamental science laboratory, the patient is replaced by a quantum object and the electromagnetic radiation by quantum measurement.

New experiments have shown that it is possible for extremely high currents to pass through graphene, a form of carbon. This allows imbalances in electric charge to be rapidly rectified. The strong electric field of the highly charged ions is able to tear dozens of electrons away from the graphene within a matter of femtoseconds.

How can quantum information be stored as long as possible? An important step forward in the development of quantum memories has been achieved by a research team of TU Wien. An artificial diamond under the optical microscope. The diamond fluoresces because due to a number of nitrogen defects. Measurement equipment for the production of durable quantum states.