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"An atmosphere of that gas [i.e., carbon dioxide] would give to our earth a high temperature; and if as some suppose, at one period of its history the air had mixed with it a larger proportion than as present, an increased temperature from its own action as well as from increased weight must have necessarily resulted."
(Foote 1856)
Molecule of Carbon Dioxide (Sanderson 2022)
Primary Discovery
Primary Discovery
Through a combination of observation and controlled experiments, Foote demonstrated that carbon dioxide and water vapor traps heat from the sun (Foote 1856). This discovery provided the mechanism of global warming and aided John Tyndall in his coining of climate change (Ortiz and Jackson 2020).
Foote's Scientific Method (Foote 1856)
Foote's Scientific Method (Foote 1856)
She came to her conclusion by exploring how different gasses (CO2, O2, H2) respond to sunlight. The experiment consisted of an air pump and two cylindrical receivers of the same size. She conducted two experiments, one with air pressure and another with moisture. In one cylinder, the air was exhausted and the other was condensed. After she placed both of them in the sun for the same period of time, the one with condensed air increased in temperature more drastically. The same procedure was done with dry and damp air. She concluded that damp air had a higher increase in temperature (Foote 1856).
Artistic Representation of Foote's Experiment (Glavinskas 2024)
Artistic Representation of Tyndall's Experiment (Roland 2019)
John Tyndall's Scientific Method
John Tyndall's Scientific Method
Tyndall was an Irish physicist and chemist at the Royal Institution of London. In 1859, he was recognized as the first individual to demonstrate the absorption of radiant heat by water vapour and carbon dioxide (Jackson 2019). His methods involved probing the nature of molecules using radiation. Tyndall's radiant heat apparatus gave him the tools to accurately measure very small amounts of absorption of different gases (Jackson 2019). It was Tyndall's finite measurements that gave me the evidence to construct his theory on the greenhouse gas effect.
Foote VS Tyndall
Foote VS Tyndall
Eunice Foote (Sola 2022)
John Tyndall (Boe 2024)
Foote had found her discovery in 1856 and Tyndall in 1859, a difference of just 3 years. Both experiments had confirmed that the presence of different gases increase temperature, so why had Tyndall received the recognition for the theory of the greenhouse gas effect? This answer lies in Foote's marginalization and her difficulty gaining any ground in the scientific community (Jackson 2019).
John Tyndall Portrait (John Tyndall. Photograph by Lock & Whitfield. 2024)
John Tyndall FRS
John Tyndall FRS
Tyndall was born in 1820 in Ireland and was hired as a draftsman for the Ordnance Survey of Ireland in 1839, and then for the Ordanance Survey for Great Britain in 1843. Tyndall was employed in railway construction planning between 1844 and 1847 for his valuable surveying experience. Tyndall became a mathematics and surveying teacher at Queenwood College in 1847, and then decided to expand his education in Germany in 1848. He married Louisa Hamilton and they had no children. Due to poor health, he retired from the Royal Institution in 1886, at the age of 66. Tyndall died in 1893 at the age of 73 due to a chloral hydrate overdose, which was administered by his wife to treat his insomnia (Tyndall 1899).
Tyndall's work expanded across many fields in chemistry and physics and vocally supported Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and believed in the seperation of religion and science (Tyndall 1899).
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