Soot: The widespread past, present, and future of a man-made nanoparticle

Michael Fay, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham

Man-made nanoparticles are far from new, and soot, the oldest and most widespread, is still in our air and our headlines today. The complex combustion processes that produce the soot in our atmosphere from a variety of sources continue to be studied with the aims of reducing our emissions of these particles, particularly as health professionals have become increasingly aware of the dangers of fine (under 2.5 micrometre diameter) and ultrafine (under 100 nanometres diameter) particles.

While the phase out of petrol and diesel cars will begin in the coming decade, many vehicles will remain on our roads along with many other sources of soot from transport, industry, and within our homes themselves.

In this public lecture Michael Fay, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham, will look at how soot affected us in the past, how it is affecting us today, and how we can gain a better understanding of it.

 You can view a recording of the August Science Public Lecture here. 

This lecture is part of the monthy science public lecture series. These events showcase research from scientists at the University of Nottingham and are free and open to all!