Geoheresy
The distortion of science for ideological purposes has a long history, and the results are generally ugly.Friday, August 11, 2006
Some Airy Thoughts
Hydrogen (H2) is a gas that when present as 100% as a gas phase is rather explosive when ignited with a electric spark. Automobile lead-acid batteries tend to release H2 when being charged, hence the admonition to do it in a well ventilated area and not to create sparks. I write from personal experience!
Yet when H2 is in the air we breathe it does not explode at all nor do we assume that a single molecule of H2 is 'exploding'. This is because H2 is absent in the air as a discrete gas phase with unique properties which identify it as H2. As air does not spontaneously explode when an electric spark passes through it, we assume that h2 has become somewhat inactive in a physical sense. And if it is "exploding" at the atomic level (combining with O2 to form water) then how would we know anyway?
CO2 as a 100% phase has also unique properties that are well documented and not denied. It has a high specific heat too. But like H2 when present in minute quantities in air, its physical properties as a gas phase also become irrelevant.
It is the the physical properties of air that are important in climate studies, not its chemical composition. This suggests that CO2 as 0.04% by volume has no effect on air's thermal properties.
Hydrogen (H2) is a gas that when present as 100% as a gas phase is rather explosive when ignited with a electric spark. Automobile lead-acid batteries tend to release H2 when being charged, hence the admonition to do it in a well ventilated area and not to create sparks. I write from personal experience!
Yet when H2 is in the air we breathe it does not explode at all nor do we assume that a single molecule of H2 is 'exploding'. This is because H2 is absent in the air as a discrete gas phase with unique properties which identify it as H2. As air does not spontaneously explode when an electric spark passes through it, we assume that h2 has become somewhat inactive in a physical sense. And if it is "exploding" at the atomic level (combining with O2 to form water) then how would we know anyway?
CO2 as a 100% phase has also unique properties that are well documented and not denied. It has a high specific heat too. But like H2 when present in minute quantities in air, its physical properties as a gas phase also become irrelevant.
It is the the physical properties of air that are important in climate studies, not its chemical composition. This suggests that CO2 as 0.04% by volume has no effect on air's thermal properties.
posted by Louis Hissink # 4:43 PM 
Archives
May 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006
