Eventi

Martedì 6 ottobre 2026 alle ore 15.00

presso l’Aula 2 dell’Edificio F
Area della Ricerca CNR
Via Madonna del Piano, 10 Sesto F.no (Firenze)

il Dr. Axel Kleidon
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Jena, Germania

terrà il seminario:

"How Energy shapes the Earth and Human Societies"

Abstract: Energy, obviously, is rather central to the Earth system. But it is not just about its quantity, because only a fraction can be used to perform work to drive the dynamics of the planet: to keep the atmosphere and oceans in motion, to maintain the water cycle and those of other elements, the metabolisms associated with life, as well as the socioeconomic activity of human societies. As with heat engines and power plants, the work output is limited by temperature differences and, ultimately, differences in entropy. I illustrate the utility of this description by showing insights into climate, global climate change and the current energy revolution.

Axel Kleidon is a physicist and climate scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and regularly teaches at the University of Jena, Germany. His research focuses on how the Earth system converts energy, where the limits of these processes lie, and what this means for the climate and the use of renewable energy. Using thermodynamic concepts, he develops fundamental estimates and communicates his findings to a wide audience through scientific publications, lectures and popular science formats. Find out more about his research at earthsystem.org.