Explore the oral history collection at the Science History Institute, with interviews dating back to Access more than , print volumes, rare books and manuscripts, archival materials, and historical photographs. Skip to main content. Oesper Collection, University of Cincinnati. Although he estimated that, at the rate of emissions at that moment, this concentration would take about 3, years to reach, we now know that this forecast was very moderate and optimistic.
Arrhenius warned of the risks of the growing CO2 emissions by man and the consequent climate change , almost a century before the world decided to fight global warming. Despite all its serious implications, his study was largely ignored at the time.
It was not until the s, when the greenhouse effect began to emerge as a real and imminent concern , that the work of the Swedish scientist was given the value that it deserved. Arrhenius was also a pioneer of the now popular Theory of Panspermia , which hypothesises about the possible extraterrestrial origin of life on Earth. In he applied the newly discovered phenomenon of radiation pressure to assert that seeds, spores and other forms of life could have travelled through space to reach our planet driven by this radiation pressure from stars.
His hypothesis would only gain prominence many decades later, eventually confirming Arrhenius as much more than a great chemist: he was a visionary of science. Click Enter. Login Profile. Es En. These electrically charged ions allow the solution to conduct electricity.
Arrhenius is also known for his method of classifying acids and bases. Bases are substances that produced hydroxide ions OH- in water. Common household and Arrhenius acids include vinegar acetic acid , carbonic acid in soft drinks , and citric acid orange juice.
Common Arrhenius bases are lye caustic soda and milk of magnesia. Nonetheless, the concept of Arrhenius acids and bases are still taught in chemistry classes today. When Arrhenius presented his dissertation, his ideas were considered speculative and were not well received. Ultimately, he won a Nobel Prize for this work in Arrhenius was also the first person to investigate the relationship of atmospheric CO 2 concentrations and global temperatures.
In he entered the University of Uppsala, studying mathematics, chemistry and physics. The practical instruction in physics was not of the best, and in he went to Stockholm to work under Professor E. Edlund at the Academy of Sciences. Here, Arrhenius began by assisting Edlund in his work on electromotive force measurements in spark discharges but soon moved to an interest of his own. From his results the author concluded that electrolytes, when dissolved in water, become to varying degrees split or dissociated into electrically opposite positive and negative ions.
The degree to which this dissociation occurred depended above all on the nature of the substance and its concentration in the solution — being more developed the greater the dilution. The ions were supposed to be the carriers of the electric current, e. Ostwald travelled to Uppsala to make the acquaintance of the young author. During these years Arrhenius was able to prove the influence of the electrolytic dissociation on the osmotic pressure, the lowering of the freezing point and increase of the boiling point of solutions containing electrolytes.
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