Climate change in a shoebox: Right result, wrong physics

Classroom experiments that purport to demonstrate the role of carbon dioxide's far- infrared absorption in global climate change are more subtle than is commonly appreciated. We show, using both experimental results and theoretical analysis, that one such experiment demonstrates an entirely dif...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physics 2010-05, Vol.78 (5), p.536-540
Main Authors: Wagoner, P, Liu, C, Tobin, R. G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air
Carbon dioxide
Climate change
Fehlvorstellung
Heat transfer
Infrared radiation
Physics
Physik
Sorption
Treibhauseffekt
Versuch
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Summary:Classroom experiments that purport to demonstrate the role of carbon dioxide's far- infrared absorption in global climate change are more subtle than is commonly appreciated. We show, using both experimental results and theoretical analysis, that one such experiment demonstrates an entirely different phenomenon: The greater density of carbon dioxide compared to air reduces heat transfer by suppressing convective mixing with the ambient air. Other related experiments are subject to similar concerns. Argon, which has a density close to that of carbon dioxide but no infrared absorption, provides a valuable experimental control for separating radiative from convective effects. A simple analytical model for estimating the magnitude of the radiative greenhouse effect is presented, and the effect is shown to be very small for most tabletop experiments. © 2010 American Association of Physics Teachers.
ISSN:0002-9505
1943-2909
DOI:10.1119/1.3322738