PARTICLES in the air we breathe are blamed by some for growing health problems in developed countries. But the processes responsible for creating them are poorly understood. Now it turns out that the particles form much more easily than had been thought – from the cocktail of traffic fumes and industrial pollution found in urban areas.
Renyi Zhang and his colleagues from Texas A&M University in College Station simulated levels of urban pollution by varying the amount of aromatic acid and sulphuric acid vapours in an enclosed vessel. Sulphuric acid is produced by burning coal, while aromatic acids are associated with vehicle emissions. The team found…
