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This Month in Physics History August 1856

This Month in Physics History August 1856

Eunice Foote Concludes That Carbon Dioxide Could Warm the Atmosphere, Three Years Before John Tyndall Did

In 1856, an American woman named Eunice Newton Foote conducted a series of homespun experiments. She set up 30-inch-long cylinders, each with a thermometer inside, and each filled with different gases and gaseous mixtures — moist air, dry air, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and hydrogen. Foote placed the cylinders in the sun and charted how the gases warmed. The cylinder containing carbon dioxide warmed the most, she noted, and stayed at its high temperature for a long time after she took it out of the sun.

Foote wrote up these data into a short paper with a stunningly prescient conclusion. Of carbon dioxide, she wrote: “An atmosphere of that gas would give to our earth a high temperature,” describing the phenomenon we now call the greenhouse effect, the main cause of climate change. The paper, titled “Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays,” was presented at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Aug. 23, 1856.

This Month in Physics History (aps.org)

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See, e.g., https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01714-4 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw1532

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What You Need to Know about Foodborne Illnesses
This link shows foodborne disease-causing organisms that frequently cause illness in the United States. The threats are numerous and varied, with symptoms ranging from relatively mild discomfort to very serious,life-threatening illness. While the very young, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk of serious consequences from most foodborne illnesses, some of the organisms shown below pose grave threats to all persons.
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/what-you-need-know-about-foodborne-illnesses

American Chemical Society
Great Lakes Regional Meeting 2025
Chemical Business: Resources and Best Practices
Appleton, Wisconsin
June 4-6, 2025
https://GLR-ACS.org

American Chemical Society
ACS Fall 2025
Washington DC, August 17-21
ENFL & GEOC Methane: Policy for a Greenhouse Gas
The global market value of methane (natural gas) is projected to be $120 billion in 2025 and grow 5-10 % per year. Use of coal, oil, and gas contribute 120 million tons (Mt) of methane emission into the atmosphere each year. The United States is the largest emitter of methane (>10%) and closely followed by the Russian Federation. In terms of contribution to the greenhouse gas inventory (excluding water vapor) methane is second, between carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, and accounts for about 1/3 of the recent increase in Earth's surface temperature. The atmospheric concentration of methane is increasing faster than at any time since record keeping began in the 1980s, but its savior is a mean atmospheric lifetime of about ten years. Methane won’t disappear from the market anytime soon, but control of emission is a near-term opportunity to mitigate Earth’s atmospheric warming and climate change. This symposium includes methane sources and sinks, measurement, control, and use technology, climate modeling, regulatory impacts, and market supply and demand. Aligned with U.N. Sustainable Development Goals 7, Affordable and Clean Energy and 13, Climate Action.
https://www.acs.org

Pacifichem 2025
Honolulu, December 15-20
Approaching Steady-State Atmospheric Methane in the Anthropocene
The current atmospheric concentration of methane is approaching 2.00 ppm and increasing faster than at any time since record keeping began in the 1980s. Approximately 1/3 of Earth’s post-industrial revolution climate change can be ascribed to methane. Natural gas (methane) and liquified natural gas (LNG) are useful fuels and chemical feedstocks and easily transported via an established infrastructure. The 2025 market value of methane and LNG is projected to be US$120B and grow 5-10% per year. Use of coal, oil, and gas contribute 120 million tons (Mt) of methane emission into the atmosphere each year. Methane’s savior is its mean atmospheric lifetime, ~10 years, and can provide a near-term opportunity to mitigate rapid climate change. Human activity contributes to the imbalance between methane natural sources and sinks. This symposium includes methane sources and sinks, measurement, control, and use technology, climate modeling, regulatory impacts, and market supply and demand. Aligned with U.N. Sustainable Development Goals 7, Affordable and Clean Energy and 13, Climate Action.
https://pacifichem.org