Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems offer a unique, solid-state approach to converting heat into electricity based on thermal radiation. TPV is particularly suitable for certain classes of power generation applications that are not well served by standard engines, such as long, remote missions where repairs are difficult, and portable generation where space and weight are at a premium. While stand...

Within economics, there has been a recent effort to better understand the notion of culture, typically defined as beliefs, values, and norms held by individuals. Empirical work has focused on identifying systematic cultural differences between individuals from different ethnic and national backgrounds. More recently, attention has turned to the historical origins of cultural differences (e.g., ...

The spiritual but not religious (SBNR) are a growing population in secularizing societies. Yet, we know little about the underlying psychology of this group or their belief profile. Based on an individual difference approach, we address this knowledge gap by comparing SBNR with religious and non-religious participants. In a sample of Americans (n=1013), we find that the SBNR differ from non-rel...

This essay investigates the German ex-Dadaist Hugo Ball (1886–1927) and his 1920s work on religious conversion from Paul, Augustine Francis to writers poets in modernity. intense engagement was rooted Ball's own radical conversion, or ‘re-conversion’, an austere form of Catholicism childhood 1920, just a few years after breaking with Dada movement he had helped found Zurich 1916. In letters, bo...

This paper explores various scientific studies and neurophysiological evidence that describe and authenticate the two main forms of religious conversion: progressive andinstantaneous. Progressive conversion experiences are thought to occur via the Stage Model and are explained by the emotional-cognitive processing theory, while instantaneous conversion experiences have been found to result from...

Religious experiences have long been documented in patients with epilepsy, though their exact underlying neural mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we had the rare opportunity to record a delusional religious conversion in real time in a patient with right temporal lobe epilepsy undergoing continuous video-EEG. In this patient, a messianic revelation experience occurred several hours after a co...

Previous research into the religious life of Roma in Serbia has mostly been based on questionnaires and surveys of sociologists of religion on their religious (current connection to religion and church) and confessional (belonging to a religion) self-identification, on the ritual celebration of two religious-ethnic holidays: Vlasuljica (January 14, St. Basil) and Đurđevdan (May 6, St. George), ...