greenhouse gases

Examples of greenhouse gases in the following topics:

• The Greenhouse Effect

  • The greenhouse effect is an elevation in surface temperatures due to atmospheric gases absorbing and re-radiating thermal energy.
  • Gases known as greenhouse gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, and methane, absorb and trap this heat as it tries to escape from the atmosphere.
  • Greenhouse gases then re-radiate this energy back to Earth, elevating atmospheric temperatures even when the surface is not being directly irradiated by the sun.
  • The cloud layer can also absorb infrared radiation and contribute further to the greenhouse effect.
  • This increase in greenhouse gases is producing the phenomenon known as global warming, a rapid increase in atmospheric temperatures that may produce a number of environmental consequences, such as more extreme weather.

• Earth's Atmosphere

  • The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of mixed gases that is trapped near the surface due to gravitational forces.
  • In the 1800s, scientists, including John Dalton, realized that the atmosphere was composed of a variety of gases.
  • These minor components are the major contributors to phenomena like weather, the greenhouse effect, and global warming.
  • Carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other greenhouse gases are adept at stopping heat from leaving the atmosphere, causing the Earth to heat up.
  • Some greenhouse gases are beneficial—without them, Earth would be as cold as the moon—but the recent increase in carbon dioxide has upset the precise balance between too cold, too hot, and just right.

• Environmental Problems Associated with Fossil Fuel Use

  • This warning of the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are now more than 90% certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels.
  • The ranges of these estimates arise from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations.
  • Parties to the UNFCCC have adopted a range of policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to assist in adaptation to global warming.

• New Energy Sources

  • Over 44 million households use biogas (mixtures of gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter) made in household-scale digesters for lighting and/or cooking, and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of more efficient biomass cookstoves.
  • Using the existing transportation infrastructure, thereby displacing fossil fuels, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • According to a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency, solar power generators may produce most of the world's electricity within 50 years, dramatically reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment.

• Nuclear Reactors

  • In many countries, nuclear power is seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and release large amounts of greenhouse gases.

• Air Pollution

  • The greenhouse effect: an elevation in the Earth's surface temperature due to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by atmospheric gases.

• Volcanoes

  • Volcanoes can cause environmental damage due to the hot lava, ash, and gases that are released during an eruption.
  • Volcanoes can also cause more delayed damage through the gases and particulate matter that are released into the atmosphere.
  • Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, and sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride are all components of acid rain.
  • Often, eruptions are preceded by an earthquake or the release of new gases from the volcano.
  • Recall that volcanoes release toxic gases, including sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride.

• The Noble Gases (Group 18)

  • The noble gases are a group of chemical elements that make up Group 18 on the periodic table.
  • These gases all have similar properties under standard conditions: they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases with very low chemical reactivity.
  • Noble gases have the largest ionization potential among the elements of each period.
  • The noble gases were originally also referred to as "inert gases," since it was believed that they did not react with other elements to form compounds.
  • "Neon Lights" is the common term, but any of the noble gases can be used.

• The Effect of the Finite Volume

  • Real gases deviate from the ideal gas law due to the finite volume occupied by individual gas particles.
  • There are two notable situations in which the behavior of real gases deviates from that model:
  • It is important to note that this equation applies to ideal gases as well.
  • Ideal gases are assumed to be composed of point masses that interact via elastic collisions.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the van der Waals equation for non-ideal gases.

• Real Gases

  • The model also fails for most heavy gases (including many refrigerants) and for gases with strong intermolecular forces (such as water vapor).
  • Several different models mathematically describe real gases.
  • Real gases are often modeled by taking into account their molar weight and volume:
  • The Redlich-Kwong equation is another two-parameter relation that models real gases.
  • Describe the five factors that lead to non-ideal behavior in gases and relate these to the two most common models for real gases