In 1859 the Irish physicist John Tyndall, working at the Royal Institution in London, built a device to measure how different gases absorb infrared radiation. He found that water vapour and carbon dioxide absorb heat strongly, while the main gases of the air, oxygen and nitrogen, are almost transparent to it. This showed experimentally how small amounts of some gases can warm a planet, which had been suggested by Joseph Fourier in the 1820s. Svante Arrhenius calculated in 1896 that doubling carbon dioxide would raise the global temperature by several degrees.
Before and after
- 22 December 1858Birth of Giacomo Puccini
- 1859Publication of Ja, vi elsker dette landet
- 1859Construction of Neues Museum
- 1859Publication of A Tale of Two Cities
- 1859John Tyndall measures how gases trap heat
- 27 January 1859Birth of Wilhelm II
- 19 February 1859Birth of Svante August Arrhenius
- 8 April 1859Birth of Edmund Husserl
- from 27 April 1859 to 11 July 1859Second Italian War of Independence
More in Science & technology
- 1774Discovery of chlorine
- 1791Discovery of titanium
- 30 June 1808Discovery of boron
- 6 March 1869Periodic table
- 1884Car
- 1894Discovery of argon
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.