Friedemann Freund

Friedemann Freund doesn’t shrink from taking on the really big problems. His research has elucidated such important phenomena as the fact that rocks under stress behave like batteries that can produce currents deep within the crust of the Earth. These are not piddling electron flows, either – the currents could be as large as hundreds of millions of amperes, sufficient to be measured above ground, and perhaps even from orbit. Understanding and exploiting this phenomenon could lead to a dramatic breakthrough in earthquake prediction.

Another one of Friedemann’s interests is the rise of oxygen in our atmosphere, which today powers most animals, including us. The conventional wisdom is that most atmospheric oxygen is the biological waste product of blue-green bacteria, but Friedemann suggests another scenario: that simple weathering of minerals might have enriched our atmosphere. If this is the case, then we need to re-think experiments now being planned to search for life on distant worlds around other stars by hunting for oxygen in their atmospheres. Perhaps we’d only be finding chemistry, not biology, and more specifically, not photosynthesis as we know it from life on Earth.

• Scientist Interview - Friedemann Freund - The Future of Forecasting Earthquakes

Minoru M. Freund, Friedemann T. Freund, "Solid Solution Model for Interstellar Dust Grains and Their Organics," The Astrophysical Journal, 639:210-226, March 1, 2006.

Akihiro Takeuchi, Bobby W. S. Lau, Friedemann Freund,  2006. "Current and surface potential induced by stress-activated positive holes in igneous rocks,"  Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Special Issue.

Freund, Friedemann, "Cracking the Code of Pre-Earthquake Signals," SPACE.com, October 20, 2005.

Friedemann Freund, 2003. On the electrical conductivity structure of the stable continental crust Journal of Geodynamics35, 353-388.

Friedemann Freund, M.D. Cash, T. Dickinson, 2002. Hydrogen in Rocks: An Energy Source for Deep Microbial Communities Astrobiology2,

Friedemann Freund, J. Thomas Dickinson, Michelle Cash, 2002. Hydrogen in Rocks: An Energy Source for Deep Microbial Communities Astrobiology2, 83-92.

Friedemann Freund, 2002. Charge generation and propagation in rocks Geodynamics33, 545-572.

Friedemann Freund, J. Scoville, A. Staple, 2001. Organic Protomolecule Assembly in Igneous MineralsPNAS98, 2142-2147.

Friedemann Freund, J. Scoville, A. Staple, 2001. Organic Protomolecule Assembly in Igneous Minerals Proc. National Academy of Sciences98, 2142-2147.

Friedemann Freund, 2000. Time-resolved study of charge generation and propagation in igneous rocksJournal of Geophysical Research105, 11001-11019.

Friedemann Freund, 2000. Time-resolved study of charge generation and propagation in igneous rocksJournal of Geophysical Research105, 11,001-11,019.

Freund, Friedemann, 1999.  Comment: Earthquake Prediction is Worthy of Study EOS 80, #20.

Friedemann Freund, Alka Gupta, Devendra Kumar, 1999. Carboxylic and dicarboxylic acids extracted from crushed magnesium oxide single crystals Origins Life Evol. Biosphere29, 489-509.

Friedemann Freund, Alka Gupta, Devendra Kumar, 1999. Carboxylic and Dicarboxylic Acids Extracted from Crushed Magnesium Oxide Single Crystals Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere

Friedemann Freund, Alka Gupta, 1998. Fatty acids and glycolamide extracted from olivine single crystals29th Lunar & Planetary Science Conference, LPI, Houston, TX

John Marshall, Friedemann Freund, Todd B. Sauke, 1996. Microgravity studies of agglomeration in particulate clouds: Implications for volcanic and impact events Geophysical Research Letters

John Marshall, Friedemann Freund, 1996. Aggregation in particulate clouds in astrophysical and planetary settings: Preliminary results from USML-2 LPSXXVII, 811.

Friedemann Freund, Alka Gupta, Devendra Kumar, 1996. Organic matter from H20 and CO2 dissolved in minerals LPSCXVII, 379-380.

Friedemann Freund, R Ho, 1996. Organic Matter Supplied to a Planet by Tectonic and Volcanic ActivityCircumstellar Habitable Zones

Friedemann Freund, Eun-Joo Wang, Jonathan Lee, 1994. Highly mobile hole charge carriers in minerals: Key to the enigmatic electrical earthquake phenomena? In: Electromagnetic Phenomena Related to Earthquake Prediction, Eds Terra Sci. Publ. Tokyo 271-292.

Friedemann Freund, Eun-Joo Wang, Francois Batllo, Lionel Desgranges, Corinne Desgranges, Minoru M. Freund, 1994. Positive hole–type charge carriers in oxide materials, in: Grain Boundaries and Interfacial Phenomena in Electronic Ceramics, Ed Amer. Ceram. Soc. Cincinnati, OH 263-278.

Friedemann Freund, Francois Batllo, Minoru M. Freund, 1993. Critical review of electrical conductivity measurements and charge distribution analysis of magnesium oxide Journal of Geophysical Research98, 22,209-22,229.

Friedemann Freund, Francois Battlo, Minoru M. Freund, 1993. Critical Review of Electrical Conductivity Measurements and Charge Distribution Analysis of Magnesium Oxide Journal of Geophysical Research98, 22,209-22,229.

Friedemann Freund, 1992. Highly ionic hydroxides: unexpected proton conductivity in Mg(OH)2 and homologues, in: Proton Conductors, Ed. Cambridge University Press 138-157.

J.T. Trice, Joseph Becker, Friedemann Freund, Todd B. Sauke, 1991. Kinetic 12C/13C Fractionation During Isothermal Degassing of Arc-Fusion Grown Magnesium Oxide American Geophysical Union

Friedemann Freund, Minoru M. Freund, Michael M. Masuda, 1991. Highly Mobile Oxygen Hole-type Charge Carriers in Fused Silica Journal of Materials Research6, 1619-.

Francios Battlo, Friedemann Freund, R.C. LeRoy, K. Parvin, 1990. Dissociation of O_2_2- Defects into Paramagnetic O- in Wide Band-gap Insulators: A Magnetic Susceptibility Study of Magnesium Oxide Journal of Applied Physics67, 5844-.

Friedemann Freund, Francois Batllo, Minoru M. Freund, 1990. Dissociation and Recomination of Positive Holes in Minerals Spectroscopic Charatarization of Minerals and Theibook, Chptr 16.

Friedemann Freund, M. Baerns, Francois Batllo, G.C. Maiti, 1990. O- Identified at High Temperatures in a CaO-based Catalysts for Oxidative Methane Dimerization J Chim Phys87, 1467-1477.

Minoru M. Freund, Francois Batllo, Friedemann Freund, 1989. Highly Mobile Oxygen Holes in Magnesium Oxide Physical Review Letters63, 2096-.