Arrhenius, Svante

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{{Infobox_Scientist  
 
|name = Svante Arrhenius
 
|name = Svante Arrhenius
 
|image = Arrhenius2.jpg|300px
 
|image = Arrhenius2.jpg|300px
 
|image_width = 300px
 
|image_width = 300px
 
|caption = Svante August Arrhenius
 
|caption = Svante August Arrhenius
|birth_date = [[February 19]], [[1859]]
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|birth_date = February 19, 1859
 
|birth_place = [[Vik]], [[Sweden]]
 
|birth_place = [[Vik]], [[Sweden]]
 
|residence = [[Image:Flag_of_Sweden.svg|20px|]] [[Sweden]]  
 
|residence = [[Image:Flag_of_Sweden.svg|20px|]] [[Sweden]]  
 
|nationality = [[Image:Flag_of_Sweden.svg|20px|]] [[Sweden|Swedish]]  
 
|nationality = [[Image:Flag_of_Sweden.svg|20px|]] [[Sweden|Swedish]]  
|death_date = [[October 2]], [[1927]]
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|death_date = October 2, 1927
 
|death_place = [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]
 
|death_place = [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]
 
|field = [[Chemist|Physical chemist]]
 
|field = [[Chemist|Physical chemist]]
 
|work_institution = [[Royal Institute of Technology]]
 
|work_institution = [[Royal Institute of Technology]]
|alma_mater = [[University of Uppsala]]</br>[[University of Stockholm]]
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|alma_mater = [[University of Uppsala]]<br/>[[University of Stockholm]]
 
|doctoral_advisor = [[Eric Edlund]]
 
|doctoral_advisor = [[Eric Edlund]]
 
|doctoral_students = [[Oskar Klein|Oskar Benjamin Klein]]
 
|doctoral_students = [[Oskar Klein|Oskar Benjamin Klein]]
|known_for = [[Arrhenius equation]]
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|known_for = [[Arrhenius equation]]
|prizes = [[Image:Nobel.svg|20px]] [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]] (1903)
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|prizes = [[Image:Nobel.svg|20px]] [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]] (1903)
 
|religion =  
 
|religion =  
 
|footnotes =  
 
|footnotes =  
 
}}
 
}}
'''Svante August Arrhenius''' ([[February 19]], [[1859]] &ndash; [[October 2]], [[1927]]) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[chemist]] and one of the founders of the science of [[physical chemistry]]. The [[Arrhenius equation]] and the [[lunar crater]] [[Arrhenius (lunar crater)|Arrhenius]] are named after him.
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'''Svante August Arrhenius''' (February 19, 1859 &ndash; October 2, 1927) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[chemist]] and one of the founders of the [[science]] of [[physical chemistry]]. He determined that reactions in living organisms and in the test tube follow the same laws. In addition, he contributed to the fields of [[geology]], [[astronomy]], and [[astrophysics]]. He thought of the idea of a universal [[language]], proposing modifications to the [[English language]]. The [[Arrhenius equation]] and the [[lunar crater]] [[Arrhenius (lunar crater)|Arrhenius]] are named after him. He received the [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]] in 1903, becoming the first Swedish Nobel laureate. His work on [[greenhouse gas]]es has led him to be called by some the father of the science of [[climate change]].
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{{toc}}
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==Biography==
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Arrhenius was born at Vik, in the Kalmar district near [[Uppsala]], [[Sweden]], the son of Svante Gustav and Carolina Thunberg Arrhenius. His father had been a [[surveying|land surveyor]] for [[Uppsala University]], moving up to a supervisory position. At the age of three, Arrhenius taught himself to read, despite his parents' wishes, and by watching his father's addition of numbers in his account books, became an [[arithmetic]]al [[child prodigy|prodigy]].
  
==Early years==
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In later life, Arrhenius enjoyed using masses of data to discover mathematical relationships and laws. At age eight, he entered Cathedral School in Uppsala, starting in the [[fifth grade]], distinguishing himself in [[physics]] and [[mathematics]], and graduating as the youngest and most able student in 1876.
Arrhenius was born at Vik (also spelled Wik or Wijk), near [[Uppsala]], [[Sweden]], the son of Svante Gustav and Carolina Thunberg Arrhenius.
 
His father had been a [[surveying|land surveyor]] for [[Uppsala University]], moving up to a supervisory position.
 
At the age of three, Arrhenius taught himself to read, despite his parents' wishes, and by watching his father's addition of numbers in his account books, became an [[arithmetic]]al [[child prodigy|prodigy]].
 
  
In later life, Arrhenius enjoyed using masses of data to discover mathematical relationships and laws. At age 8, he entered the local cathedral school, starting in the [[fifth grade]], distinguishing himself in [[physics]] and [[mathematics]], and graduating as the youngest and most able student in [[1876]].
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==Groundbreaking dissertation==
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At the University of Uppsala, he was unsatisfied with the chief instructor of physics, Robert Thalen, whose interests lay in spectral analysis, a topic Arrhenius did not wish to pursue. Since Thalen was only faculty member who could have supervised him in chemistry at Uppsala, he was permitted to study at the Physical Institute of the Swedish Academy of Sciences in [[Stockholm]] under the physicist Erik Edlund in 1881. His work focused on the [[Electrical conductivity|conductivities]] of [[electrolyte]]s. In 1884, based on this work, he submitted a 150-page dissertation on electrolytic conductivity to Uppsala for the [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]]. His viewpoint did not impress the professors, as it stood against the common wisdom of the time, and he received the lowest possible passing grade. Such a low grade did not qualify him to teach at the university level. Later this very work would earn him the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].
  
At the University of Uppsala, he was unsatisfied with the chief instructor of physics and the only faculty member who could have supervised him in chemistry, so he left to study at the Physical Institute of the Swedish Academy of Sciences in [[Stockholm]] under the physicist Erik Edlund in [[1881]].  His work focussd on the [[Electrical conductivity|conductivities]] of [[electrolyte]]s. In [[1884]], based on this work, he submitted a 150-page dissertation on electrolytic conductivity to Uppsala for the [[Doctor of Philosophy|doctorate]]. It did not impress the professors, and he received the lowest possible passing grade. Later this very work would earn him the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].
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Of the many theses put forth in the 1884 dissertation, most would still be accepted today unchanged or with minor modifications. The most important idea in the dissertation was his explanation of the fact that neither pure [[salt]]s nor pure [[water]] is a [[conductor (material)|conductor]], but solutions of salts in water are.
  
There were 56 theses put forth in the 1884 dissertation, and most would still be accepted today unchanged or with minor modifications.
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Arrhenius' explanation was that in forming a solution, the salt dissociates into charged particles (which [[Michael Faraday]] had given the name [[ion]]s many years earlier). Faraday's belief had been that ions were produced in the process of [[electrolysis]]; Arrhenius proposed that, even in the absence of an electric current, solutions of salts contained ions.
The most important idea in the dissertation was his explanation of the fact that neither pure [[salt]]s nor pure [[water]] is a [[conductor (material)|conductor]], but solutions of salts in water are.  
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He thus proposed that [[chemical reaction]]s in solution were reactions between ions. For weak electrolytes this is still believed to be the case, but modifications (by [[Peter Debye|Peter J. W. Debye]] and [[Erich Hueckel|Erich Hückel]]) were found necessary to account for the behavior of strong electrolytes.
  
Arrhenius' explanation was that in forming a solution, the salt dissociates into charged particles (which [[Michael Faraday]] had given the name [[ion]]s many years earlier). Faraday's belief had been that ions were produced in the process of [[electrolysis]]; Arrhenius proposed that, even in the absence of an electric current, solutions of salts contained ions.
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In an extension of his [[ionic theory]], Arrhenius proposed definitions for [[acids]] and [[bases]]. He believed that acids were substances which produce [[hydrogen]] [[ions]] in [[solution]] and that bases were substances which produce hydroxide ions in solution.
He thus proposed that chemical reactions in solution were reactions between ions. For weak electrolytes this is still believed to be the case, but modifications (by [[Peter Debye|Peter J. W. Debye]] and [[Erich Hueckel|Erich Hückel]]) were found necessary to account for the behavior of strong electrolytes.  
 
  
 
The dissertation was not very impressive to the professors at Uppsala, but Arrhenius sent it to a number of scientists in Europe who were developing the new science of [[physical chemistry]], such as [[Rudolf Clausius]], [[Wilhelm Ostwald]], and [[J. H. van't Hoff|J. H. van 't Hoff]].  
 
The dissertation was not very impressive to the professors at Uppsala, but Arrhenius sent it to a number of scientists in Europe who were developing the new science of [[physical chemistry]], such as [[Rudolf Clausius]], [[Wilhelm Ostwald]], and [[J. H. van't Hoff|J. H. van 't Hoff]].  
They were far more impressed, and Ostwald even came to Uppsala to persuade Arrhenius to join his research team. Arrhenius declined, however, as he preferred to stay in Sweden for a while (his father was very ill and would die in [[1885]]) and had received an appointment at Uppsala.
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They were far more impressed, and Ostwald even came to Uppsala to persuade Arrhenius to join his research team. Arrhenius declined, however, as he preferred to stay in Sweden for a while (his father was very ill and would die in 1885) and had received an appointment at Uppsala.
  
 
==Middle period==
 
==Middle period==
Arrhenius next received a travel grant from the Swedish Academy of Sciences, which enabled him to study with Ostwald in [[Riga]] (now in [[Latvia]]), with [[Friedrich Kohlrausch]] in [[Würzburg]], [[Germany]], with [[Ludwig Boltzmann]] in [[Graz, Austria]], and with van 't Hoff in [[Amsterdam]].  
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Arrhenius received a travel grant in 1885 from the Swedish Academy of Sciences, which enabled him to study with Ostwald in [[Riga]] (now in [[Latvia]]), with [[Friedrich Kohlrausch]] in [[Würzburg]], [[Germany]], with [[Ludwig Boltzmann]] in [[Graz, Austria]], and with van't Hoff in [[Amsterdam]].  
  
In [[1889]] Arrhenius explained the fact that most reactions require added heat energy to proceed by formulating the concept of [[activation energy]], an energy barrier that must be overcome before two molecules will react.  
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In 1889, Arrhenius explained the fact that most reactions require added heat [[energy]] to proceed by formulating the concept of [[activation energy]], an energy barrier that must be overcome before two [[molecule]]s will react. The [[Arrhenius equation]] gives the quantitative basis of the relationship between the activation energy and the rate at which a reaction proceeds. This explains the changes in reaction rates as the temperature increases.
The [[Arrhenius equation]] gives the quantitative basis of the relationship between the activation energy and the rate at which a reaction proceeds.
 
  
In [[1891]] he became a lecturer at ''Stockholms Högskola'' (now [[Stockholm University]]), being promoted to professor of physics (with much opposition) in [[1895]], and [[rector]] in [[1896]].
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In 1891 he became a lecturer at ''Stockholms Högskola'' (now [[Stockholm University]]), being promoted to professor of [[physics]] (with much opposition) in 1895, and [[rector]] in 1896.
  
He was married twice, to Sofia Rudbeck (his former pupil), (who bore him one son) the marriage only lasted two years from [[1894]] to [[1896]], and to Maria Johansson (who bore him two daughters and a son), from [[1905]] onward.
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He was married twice. First to Sofia Rudbeck, a former pupil and assistant, who bore him one son, Olof Wilhelm. The marriage lasted only two years from 1894 to 1896, ending in divorce. In 1905, he married Maria Johansson, who bore him two daughters, Ester and Anna-Lisa, and a son, Sven.
  
In [[1901]] Arrhenius was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, against strong opposition. In [[1903]] he became the first Swede to be awarded the [[Nobel Prize in chemistry]].  
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In 1901, Arrhenius was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, against strong opposition. In 1903, he became the first Swede to be awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].
In [[1905]], upon the founding of the Nobel Institute for Physical Research at Stockholm, he was appointed [[rector]] of the institute, the position where he remained until retirement in [[1927]].
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In 1905, upon the founding of the Nobel Institute for Physical Research at Stockholm, he was appointed [[rector]] of the institute, the position where he remained until retirement in 1927.
  
 
==Later years==
 
==Later years==
Eventually, Arrhenius' theories became generally accepted and he turned to other scientific topics. In 1902 he began to investigate physiological problems in terms of chemical theory. He determined that reactions in living organisms and in the test tube followed the same laws. In 1904 he delivered at the university of California a course of lectures, the object of which was to illustrate the application of the methods of physical chemistry to the study of the theory of toxins and antitoxins, and which were published in 1907 under the title ''Immunochemistry''.
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Eventually, Arrhenius' theories became generally accepted and he turned to other scientific topics. In 1902 he began to investigate physiological problems in terms of chemical theory. He determined that reactions in living [[organism]]s and in the test tube followed the same laws. In 1904, he delivered at the [[University of California]] a course of lectures, the object of which was to illustrate the application of the methods of physical chemistry to the study of the theory of toxins and antitoxins, and which were published in 1907 under the title ''Immunochemistry''.
He also turned his attention to [[geology]] (the origin of [[ice age]]s), [[astronomy]], [[physical cosmology]], and [[astrophysics]], accounting for the birth of the [[solar system]] by interstellar collision.
 
He considered [[radiation pressure]] as accounting for [[comet]]s, the solar [[corona]], the [[aurora borealis]], and [[zodiacal light]].  
 
  
He thought life might have been carried from planet to planet by the transport of [[spore]]s, the theory now known as [[panspermia]]. He thought of the idea of a universal language, proposing a modification of the [[English language]].
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He also turned his attention to [[geology]] (the origin of [[ice age]]s), [[astronomy]], [[physical cosmology]], and [[astrophysics]], accounting for the birth of the [[solar system]] by interstellar collision. He considered [[radiation pressure]] as accounting for [[comet]]s, the solar [[corona]], the [[aurora borealis]], and [[zodiacal light]].
  
In an extension of his [[ionic theory]] Arrhenius proposed definitions for [[acids]] and [[bases]], in 1884. He believed that acids were substances which produce [[hydrogen]] [[ions]] in [[solution]] and that bases were substances which produce hydroxide ions in solution.
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He developed a theory for the [[origin of life]] on earth, known as [[panspermia]], in which life in the form of spores is transported through interstellar space by light pressure. He even postulated that [[life]] on [[earth]] may have come from Venus, connecting the survival of some forms of bacteria at high [[temperatures]] with conditions on that planet. The theme of ''panspermia'' was later revived by astrophysicist Fred Hoyle in the last decades of the twentieth century.
  
In his last years he wrote both textbooks and popular books, trying to emphasize the need for further work on the topics he discussed.  
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He thought of the idea of a universal language, proposing a modification of the [[English language]].
  
In September, 1927, he came down with an attack of acute [[intestine|intestinal]] [[catarrh]], died on [[October 2]], and was buried in Uppsala.
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In his last years he wrote both textbooks and popular books, trying to emphasize the need for further work on the topics he discussed. These included ''Quantitative Laws in Biological Chemistry'' (1915), ''Worlds in the Making: The Evolution of the Universe'' (1906), and ''The Destinies of the Stars'' (1915).
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In September 1927, he came down with an attack of acute [[intestine|intestinal]] [[catarrh]]. He died on October 2 and was buried in Uppsala.
  
 
== Greenhouse effect as cause for ice ages==
 
== Greenhouse effect as cause for ice ages==
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{{readout||right|250px|Svante Arrhenius' work on [[greenhouse gas]]es has led to him beeing called the father of the science of [[climate change]]}}
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Svante Arrhenius developed a theory to explain the [[ice age]]s, and first speculated that changes in the levels of [[carbon dioxide]] in the [[earth’s atmosphere|atmosphere]] could substantially alter the surface temperature through the [[greenhouse effect]].<ref>Svante Arrhenius, [https://www.rsc.org/images/Arrhenius1896_tcm18-173546.pdf On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air Upon the Temperature of the Ground] ''Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science'' 5(41) (1896): 237-276. Retrieved March 9, 2022.</ref> In this work, he built upon the prior work of other famous scientists, including [[Joseph Fourier]], [[John Tyndall]], and [[Claude Pouillet]].
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Using the just published [[Stefan-Boltzmann law|Stefan Boltzmann law]] he formulated his greenhouse law. 
  
Svante Arrhenius developed a theory to explain the [[ice age]]s, and first speculated that changes in the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could substantially alter the surface temperature through the [[greenhouse effect]] ("[http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Arrhenius_pdf On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air Upon the Temperature of the Ground]", Philosophical Magazine 1896(41): 237-76). He was influenced by the work of others, including [[Joseph Fourier]]. Arrhenius used the infrared observations of the moon by [[Frank Washington Very]] and [[Samuel Pierpont Langley]] at the [[Allegheny Observatory]] in Pittsburgh to calculate the absorption of CO<sub>2</sub> and water vapour. Arrhenius' painstaking calculations were later shown to be erroneous. Using the just published [[Stefan-Boltzmann law|Stefan Boltzmann law]] he formulated his greenhouse law. 
 
 
In its original form, Arrhenius' greenhouse law reads as follows:
 
In its original form, Arrhenius' greenhouse law reads as follows:
::''if the quantity of carbonic acid increases in geometric progression, the augmentation of the temperature will increase nearly in arithmetic progression.''
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::''If the quantity of carbonic acid increases in geometric progression, the augmentation of the temperature will increase nearly in arithmetic progression.''  
Which is still valid in the simplified expression by Myhre et al. (1998).
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This postulate is still considered valid.
::ΔF = αln(C/<math>C_0</math>)
 
Arrhenius' high absorption values for CO<sub>2</sub>, however, met criticism by [[Knut Ångström]] in 1900, who published the first modern infrared spectrum of CO<sub>2</sub> with two absorption bands. Arrhenius replied strongly in 1901 (''Annalen der Physik''), dismissing the critique altogether. He touched the subject briefly in a technical book titled ''Lehrbuch der kosmischen Physik'' (1903). He later wrote ''Världarnas utveckling'' (1906), German translation: ''Das Werden der Welten'' (1907), English translation: ''Worlds in the Making'' (1908) directed at a general audience, where he suggested that the human emission of CO<sub>2</sub> would be strong enough to prevent the world from entering a new ice age, and that a warmer earth would be needed to feed the rapidly increasing population. Arrhenius clearly believed that a warmer world would be a positive change. From that, the hot-house theory gained more attention. Nevertheless, until about 1960, most scientists dismissed the hot-house / greenhouse effect as implausible for the cause of ice ages as [[Milutin Milankovitch]] had presented a mechanism using orbital changes of the earth ([[Milankovitch cycles]]), which has proven to be a powerful predictor of most of the millions of past climate changes. Nowadays, the accepted explanation is that [[orbital forcing]] sets the timing for ice ages with CO2 acting as an essential [[positive feedback|amplifying feedback]].
 
  
Arrhenius estimated that a doubling of CO<sub>2</sub> would cause a temperature rise of 4 - 6 degrees Celsius [http://www.aip.org/history/climate/co2.htm]or 7 - 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Recent (2007) estimates from [[IPCC]] place this value (the [[Climate sensitivity]]) at between 2 and 4.5 degrees, although values greater than 4.5°C cannot be formally excluded. What is remarkable is that Arrhenius came so close to the most recent IPCC estimate.  Arrhenius expected CO<sub>2</sub> levels to rise at a rate given by emissions in his time. Since then, industrial carbon dioxide levels have risen at a much faster rate: Arrhenius expected CO<sub>2</sub> doubling to take about 3000 years; it is now predicted to take about a century.
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Arrhenius used the infrared observations of the moon by [[Frank Washington Very]] and [[Samuel Pierpont Langley]] at the [[Allegheny Observatory]] in Pittsburgh to calculate the absorption of CO<sub>2</sub> and water vapor. These calculations led him to conclude that human-caused CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, from fossil-fuel burning and other combustion processes, are large enough to cause [[global warming]]. In his calculation Arrhenius included the feedback from changes in water vapor as well as latitudinal effects, but he omitted clouds, convection of heat upward in the atmosphere, and other essential factors. His work is currently seen less as an accurate quantification of global warming than as the first demonstration that increases in atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> will cause global warming, everything else being equal.
  
==See also==
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Arrhenius' high absorption values for CO<sub>2</sub> met criticism by [[Knut Ångström]] in 1900, who published the first modern infrared spectrum of CO<sub>2</sub> with two absorption bands. Arrhenius replied strongly in 1901 ''(Annalen der Physik)'', dismissing the critique altogether. He touched the subject briefly in a technical book titled ''Lehrbuch der kosmischen Physik'' (1903). He later wrote ''Världarnas utveckling'' (1906), German translation: ''Das Werden der Welten'' (1907), English translation: ''Worlds in the Making'' (1908) directed at a general audience, where he suggested that the human emission of CO<sub>2</sub> would be strong enough to prevent the world from entering a new ice age, and that a warmer earth would be needed to feed the rapidly increasing population. Arrhenius clearly believed that a warmer world would be a positive change. From that, the hot-house theory gained more attention. Nevertheless, until about 1960, most scientists dismissed the hot-house/greenhouse effect as implausible for the cause of ice ages as [[Milutin Milankovitch]] had presented a mechanism using orbital changes of the earth ([[Milankovitch cycles]]), which has proven to be a powerful predictor of most of the millions of past climate changes. Nowadays, the accepted explanation is that [[orbital forcing]] sets the timing for ice ages with CO<sub>2</sub> acting as an essential [[positive feedback|amplifying feedback]].
  
*[[Arrhenius equation]]
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Arrhenius estimated that a doubling of CO<sub>2</sub> would cause a temperature rise of four to six degrees [[Celsius]] or seven to 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrhenius expected CO<sub>2</sub> doubling to take about 3000 years. Since Arrhenius' time, however, industrial carbon dioxide levels have risen at a much faster rate. Doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations is now predicted to take about a century. His work on greenhouse gases has led Arrhenius to be called the father of [[climate change]] science.<ref>Ian Sample, [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/jun/30/climatechange.climatechangeenvironment2 The father of climate change] ''The Guardian'', June 30, 2005. Retrieved March 9, 2022.</ref>
*[[Acid-base reaction theories]]
 
  
== Bibliography ==
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==Honors==
*Svante Arrhenius, 1884, ''Recherches sur la conductivité galvanique des électrolytes'', doctoral dissertation, Stockholm, Royal publishing house, P.A. Norstedt & söner, 89 pages.
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* Davy Medal of the Royal Society (1902)
*Svante Arrhenius, 1896a, ''Ueber den Einfluss des Atmosphärischen Kohlensäurengehalts auf die Temperatur der Erdoberfläche'', in the Proceedings of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm 1896, Volume 22, I N. 1, pages 1&ndash;101.
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* Nobel Prize in chemistry (1903)
*Svante Arrhenius, 1896b, ''[http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Arrhenius_pdf On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground]'', London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science (fifth series), April 1896. vol 41, pages 237&ndash;275.
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* Willard Gibbs Medal of the Chicago section of the American chemical Society (1911)
*Svante Arrhenius, 1901a, ''Ueber die Wärmeabsorption durch Kohlensäure'', Annalen der Physik, Vol 4, 1901, pages 690&ndash;705.
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* Faraday Medal of the British Chemical Society (1914)
*Svante Arrhenius, 1901b, ''Über Die Wärmeabsorption Durch Kohlensäure Und Ihren Einfluss Auf Die Temperatur Der Erdoberfläche''. Abstract of the proceedings of the Royal Academy of Science, 58, 25&ndash;58.
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* Honorary member, Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft
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* Foreign member, Royal Society of London
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== Research publications ==
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*Svante Arrhenius, 1884, "Recherches sur la conductivité galvanique des électrolytes," doctoral dissertation, Stockholm, Royal publishing house, P.A. Norstedt & söner, 89 pages.
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*Svante Arrhenius, 1896a, "Ueber den Einfluss des Atmosphärischen Kohlensäurengehalts auf die Temperatur der Erdoberfläche," in the ''Proceedings of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science'', Stockholm 1896, Volume 22, I N. 1, pages 1&ndash;101.
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*Svante Arrhenius, 1896b, "On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground," London, Edinburgh, and Dublin ''Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science'' (fifth series), April 1896. vol 41, pages 237&ndash;275.
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*Svante Arrhenius, 1901a, "Ueber die Wärmeabsorption durch Kohlensäure," ''Annalen der Physik'', Vol 4, 1901, pages 690&ndash;705.
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*Svante Arrhenius, 1901b, "Über Die Wärmeabsorption Durch Kohlensäure Und Ihren Einfluss Auf Die Temperatur Der Erdoberfläche," ''Abstract of the proceedings of the Royal Academy of Science'', 58, 25&ndash;58.
 
*Svante Arrhenius, 1903, ''Lehrbuch der Kosmischen Physik'', Vol I and II, S. Hirschel publishing house, Leipzig, 1026 pages.
 
*Svante Arrhenius, 1903, ''Lehrbuch der Kosmischen Physik'', Vol I and II, S. Hirschel publishing house, Leipzig, 1026 pages.
 
*Svante Arrhenius, 1908, ''Das Werden der Welten'', Academic Publishing House, Leipzig, 208 pages.
 
*Svante Arrhenius, 1908, ''Das Werden der Welten'', Academic Publishing House, Leipzig, 208 pages.
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==Notes==
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<references/>
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== References ==
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* Crawford, Elisabeth T. ''Arrhenius: From Ionic Theory to the Greenhouse Effect.'' Uppsala Studies in History of Science, 23. Canton, MA: Science History Publications, 1996. ISBN 0881351660
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* Ferguson, Pamela. ''World Book's Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists''. 8th ed. Chicago: World Book, 2002. ISBN 0716676001
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* Gillispie, Charles Coulston. ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography''. New York: Scribner, 1975. ISBN 0684101211
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
*[http://nobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/1903/index.html The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1903]
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All links retrieved February 26, 2023.
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/Obs../0050//0000363.000.html Obs '''50''' (1927) 363] - Obituary (one paragraph)
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* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/PASP./0039//0000385.000.html PASP '''39''' (1927) 385] - Obituary (one paragraph)
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* [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1903/arrhenius/biographical/ Svante Arrhenius: Biographical] ''The Nobel Prize''.
* [http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/page.asp?id=5971 Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927)]
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* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/Obs../0050//0000363.000.html Obs '''50''' (1927) 363] - (Obituary, one paragraph.)
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* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/PASP./0039//0000385.000.html PASP '''39''' (1927) 385] - (Obituary, one paragraph.)
  
==Further reading==
 
* {{cite encyclopedia
 
  | last = Snelders
 
  | first = H.A.M.
 
  | title = Arrhenius, Svante August
 
  | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]]
 
  | volume = 1
 
  | pages = 296-301
 
  | publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons
 
  | location = New York
 
  | date = 1970
 
  | isbn = 0684101149
 
}}
 
* Crawford, Elisabeth T. ''Arrhenius: from ionic theory to the greenhouse effect'' Canton, MA: Science History Publications. ISBN 0881351660
 
  
 
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1901-1925}}
 
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1901-1925}}
  
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] —>
 
 
{{Persondata
 
|NAME= Arrhenius, Svante
 
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
 
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[Chemist|Physical chemist]]
 
|DATE OF BIRTH= [[February 19]], [[1859]]
 
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Vik]], [[Sweden]]
 
|DATE OF DEATH= [[October 2]], [[1927]]
 
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]
 
}}
 
  
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Latest revision as of 00:32, 27 February 2023

Svante Arrhenius

Arrhenius2.jpg
Svante August Arrhenius
Born

February 19, 1859
Vik, Sweden

Died October 2, 1927

Stockholm, Sweden

Residence Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden
Nationality Flag of Sweden.svg Swedish
Field Physical chemist
Institutions Royal Institute of Technology
Alma mater University of Uppsala
University of Stockholm
Academic advisor  Eric Edlund
Notable students  Oskar Benjamin Klein
Known for Arrhenius equation
Notable prizes Nobel.svg Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1903)

Svante August Arrhenius (February 19, 1859 – October 2, 1927) was a Swedish chemist and one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. He determined that reactions in living organisms and in the test tube follow the same laws. In addition, he contributed to the fields of geology, astronomy, and astrophysics. He thought of the idea of a universal language, proposing modifications to the English language. The Arrhenius equation and the lunar crater Arrhenius are named after him. He received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1903, becoming the first Swedish Nobel laureate. His work on greenhouse gases has led him to be called by some the father of the science of climate change.

Biography

Arrhenius was born at Vik, in the Kalmar district near Uppsala, Sweden, the son of Svante Gustav and Carolina Thunberg Arrhenius. His father had been a land surveyor for Uppsala University, moving up to a supervisory position. At the age of three, Arrhenius taught himself to read, despite his parents' wishes, and by watching his father's addition of numbers in his account books, became an arithmetical prodigy.

In later life, Arrhenius enjoyed using masses of data to discover mathematical relationships and laws. At age eight, he entered Cathedral School in Uppsala, starting in the fifth grade, distinguishing himself in physics and mathematics, and graduating as the youngest and most able student in 1876.

Groundbreaking dissertation

At the University of Uppsala, he was unsatisfied with the chief instructor of physics, Robert Thalen, whose interests lay in spectral analysis, a topic Arrhenius did not wish to pursue. Since Thalen was only faculty member who could have supervised him in chemistry at Uppsala, he was permitted to study at the Physical Institute of the Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm under the physicist Erik Edlund in 1881. His work focused on the conductivities of electrolytes. In 1884, based on this work, he submitted a 150-page dissertation on electrolytic conductivity to Uppsala for the doctorate. His viewpoint did not impress the professors, as it stood against the common wisdom of the time, and he received the lowest possible passing grade. Such a low grade did not qualify him to teach at the university level. Later this very work would earn him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Of the many theses put forth in the 1884 dissertation, most would still be accepted today unchanged or with minor modifications. The most important idea in the dissertation was his explanation of the fact that neither pure salts nor pure water is a conductor, but solutions of salts in water are.

Arrhenius' explanation was that in forming a solution, the salt dissociates into charged particles (which Michael Faraday had given the name ions many years earlier). Faraday's belief had been that ions were produced in the process of electrolysis; Arrhenius proposed that, even in the absence of an electric current, solutions of salts contained ions.

He thus proposed that chemical reactions in solution were reactions between ions. For weak electrolytes this is still believed to be the case, but modifications (by Peter J. W. Debye and Erich Hückel) were found necessary to account for the behavior of strong electrolytes.

In an extension of his ionic theory, Arrhenius proposed definitions for acids and bases. He believed that acids were substances which produce hydrogen ions in solution and that bases were substances which produce hydroxide ions in solution.

The dissertation was not very impressive to the professors at Uppsala, but Arrhenius sent it to a number of scientists in Europe who were developing the new science of physical chemistry, such as Rudolf Clausius, Wilhelm Ostwald, and J. H. van 't Hoff.

They were far more impressed, and Ostwald even came to Uppsala to persuade Arrhenius to join his research team. Arrhenius declined, however, as he preferred to stay in Sweden for a while (his father was very ill and would die in 1885) and had received an appointment at Uppsala.

Middle period

Arrhenius received a travel grant in 1885 from the Swedish Academy of Sciences, which enabled him to study with Ostwald in Riga (now in Latvia), with Friedrich Kohlrausch in Würzburg, Germany, with Ludwig Boltzmann in Graz, Austria, and with van't Hoff in Amsterdam.

In 1889, Arrhenius explained the fact that most reactions require added heat energy to proceed by formulating the concept of activation energy, an energy barrier that must be overcome before two molecules will react. The Arrhenius equation gives the quantitative basis of the relationship between the activation energy and the rate at which a reaction proceeds. This explains the changes in reaction rates as the temperature increases.

In 1891 he became a lecturer at Stockholms Högskola (now Stockholm University), being promoted to professor of physics (with much opposition) in 1895, and rector in 1896.

He was married twice. First to Sofia Rudbeck, a former pupil and assistant, who bore him one son, Olof Wilhelm. The marriage lasted only two years from 1894 to 1896, ending in divorce. In 1905, he married Maria Johansson, who bore him two daughters, Ester and Anna-Lisa, and a son, Sven.

In 1901, Arrhenius was elected to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, against strong opposition. In 1903, he became the first Swede to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

In 1905, upon the founding of the Nobel Institute for Physical Research at Stockholm, he was appointed rector of the institute, the position where he remained until retirement in 1927.

Later years

Eventually, Arrhenius' theories became generally accepted and he turned to other scientific topics. In 1902 he began to investigate physiological problems in terms of chemical theory. He determined that reactions in living organisms and in the test tube followed the same laws. In 1904, he delivered at the University of California a course of lectures, the object of which was to illustrate the application of the methods of physical chemistry to the study of the theory of toxins and antitoxins, and which were published in 1907 under the title Immunochemistry.

He also turned his attention to geology (the origin of ice ages), astronomy, physical cosmology, and astrophysics, accounting for the birth of the solar system by interstellar collision. He considered radiation pressure as accounting for comets, the solar corona, the aurora borealis, and zodiacal light.

He developed a theory for the origin of life on earth, known as panspermia, in which life in the form of spores is transported through interstellar space by light pressure. He even postulated that life on earth may have come from Venus, connecting the survival of some forms of bacteria at high temperatures with conditions on that planet. The theme of panspermia was later revived by astrophysicist Fred Hoyle in the last decades of the twentieth century.

He thought of the idea of a universal language, proposing a modification of the English language.

In his last years he wrote both textbooks and popular books, trying to emphasize the need for further work on the topics he discussed. These included Quantitative Laws in Biological Chemistry (1915), Worlds in the Making: The Evolution of the Universe (1906), and The Destinies of the Stars (1915).

In September 1927, he came down with an attack of acute intestinal catarrh. He died on October 2 and was buried in Uppsala.

Greenhouse effect as cause for ice ages

Did you know?
Svante Arrhenius' work on greenhouse gases has led to him beeing called the father of the science of climate change

Svante Arrhenius developed a theory to explain the ice ages, and first speculated that changes in the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could substantially alter the surface temperature through the greenhouse effect.[1] In this work, he built upon the prior work of other famous scientists, including Joseph Fourier, John Tyndall, and Claude Pouillet.

Using the just published Stefan Boltzmann law he formulated his greenhouse law.

In its original form, Arrhenius' greenhouse law reads as follows:

If the quantity of carbonic acid increases in geometric progression, the augmentation of the temperature will increase nearly in arithmetic progression.

This postulate is still considered valid.

Arrhenius used the infrared observations of the moon by Frank Washington Very and Samuel Pierpont Langley at the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh to calculate the absorption of CO2 and water vapor. These calculations led him to conclude that human-caused CO2 emissions, from fossil-fuel burning and other combustion processes, are large enough to cause global warming. In his calculation Arrhenius included the feedback from changes in water vapor as well as latitudinal effects, but he omitted clouds, convection of heat upward in the atmosphere, and other essential factors. His work is currently seen less as an accurate quantification of global warming than as the first demonstration that increases in atmospheric CO2 will cause global warming, everything else being equal.

Arrhenius' high absorption values for CO2 met criticism by Knut Ångström in 1900, who published the first modern infrared spectrum of CO2 with two absorption bands. Arrhenius replied strongly in 1901 (Annalen der Physik), dismissing the critique altogether. He touched the subject briefly in a technical book titled Lehrbuch der kosmischen Physik (1903). He later wrote Världarnas utveckling (1906), German translation: Das Werden der Welten (1907), English translation: Worlds in the Making (1908) directed at a general audience, where he suggested that the human emission of CO2 would be strong enough to prevent the world from entering a new ice age, and that a warmer earth would be needed to feed the rapidly increasing population. Arrhenius clearly believed that a warmer world would be a positive change. From that, the hot-house theory gained more attention. Nevertheless, until about 1960, most scientists dismissed the hot-house/greenhouse effect as implausible for the cause of ice ages as Milutin Milankovitch had presented a mechanism using orbital changes of the earth (Milankovitch cycles), which has proven to be a powerful predictor of most of the millions of past climate changes. Nowadays, the accepted explanation is that orbital forcing sets the timing for ice ages with CO2 acting as an essential amplifying feedback.

Arrhenius estimated that a doubling of CO2 would cause a temperature rise of four to six degrees Celsius or seven to 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrhenius expected CO2 doubling to take about 3000 years. Since Arrhenius' time, however, industrial carbon dioxide levels have risen at a much faster rate. Doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations is now predicted to take about a century. His work on greenhouse gases has led Arrhenius to be called the father of climate change science.[2]

Honors

  • Davy Medal of the Royal Society (1902)
  • Nobel Prize in chemistry (1903)
  • Willard Gibbs Medal of the Chicago section of the American chemical Society (1911)
  • Faraday Medal of the British Chemical Society (1914)
  • Honorary member, Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft
  • Foreign member, Royal Society of London

Research publications

  • Svante Arrhenius, 1884, "Recherches sur la conductivité galvanique des électrolytes," doctoral dissertation, Stockholm, Royal publishing house, P.A. Norstedt & söner, 89 pages.
  • Svante Arrhenius, 1896a, "Ueber den Einfluss des Atmosphärischen Kohlensäurengehalts auf die Temperatur der Erdoberfläche," in the Proceedings of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm 1896, Volume 22, I N. 1, pages 1–101.
  • Svante Arrhenius, 1896b, "On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground," London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science (fifth series), April 1896. vol 41, pages 237–275.
  • Svante Arrhenius, 1901a, "Ueber die Wärmeabsorption durch Kohlensäure," Annalen der Physik, Vol 4, 1901, pages 690–705.
  • Svante Arrhenius, 1901b, "Über Die Wärmeabsorption Durch Kohlensäure Und Ihren Einfluss Auf Die Temperatur Der Erdoberfläche," Abstract of the proceedings of the Royal Academy of Science, 58, 25–58.
  • Svante Arrhenius, 1903, Lehrbuch der Kosmischen Physik, Vol I and II, S. Hirschel publishing house, Leipzig, 1026 pages.
  • Svante Arrhenius, 1908, Das Werden der Welten, Academic Publishing House, Leipzig, 208 pages.

Notes

  1. Svante Arrhenius, On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air Upon the Temperature of the Ground Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science 5(41) (1896): 237-276. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  2. Ian Sample, The father of climate change The Guardian, June 30, 2005. Retrieved March 9, 2022.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Crawford, Elisabeth T. Arrhenius: From Ionic Theory to the Greenhouse Effect. Uppsala Studies in History of Science, 23. Canton, MA: Science History Publications, 1996. ISBN 0881351660
  • Ferguson, Pamela. World Book's Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists. 8th ed. Chicago: World Book, 2002. ISBN 0716676001
  • Gillispie, Charles Coulston. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. New York: Scribner, 1975. ISBN 0684101211

External links

All links retrieved February 26, 2023.


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