Svante Arrhenius
Svante August Arrhenius
Born	February 19, 1859(1859-02-19) Vik, Sweden
Died	October 2, 1927 (aged 68) Stockholm, Sweden
Residence	Sweden
Nationality	Swedish
Field	Physical chemist
Institutions	Royal Institute of Technology
Alma mater	University of Uppsala University of Stockholm
Academic advisor	Per Teodor Cleve, Eric Edlund
Notable students	Oskar Benjamin Klein
Known for	Arrhenius equation
Notable prizes	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. The Arrhenius equation and the lunar crater Arrhenius are named after him. Image File history File links Svante Arrhenius from German Wikipedia: 19:30, 11. ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Jose has comandeered this page. ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... A chemist pours from a round-bottom flask. ... The Royal Institute of Technology or Kungliga tekniska högskolan (KTH) is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. ... Uppsala University Uppsala University (Swedish Uppsala universitet) is a public university in Uppsala, Sweden. ... Stockholm University Stockholm University, or Stockholms universitet, is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. ... Per Teodor Cleve (Stockholm February 10, 1840 – Uppsala June 18, 1905) was a Swedish chemist and geologist. ... Eric Edlund (1819-1888) investigated fluid motion, polarization of light during a total eclipse, and thermal phenomena accompanying changes in volume of solids. ... Oskar Klein (September 15, 1894 - February 5, 1977) was a Swedish theoretical physicist. ... The Arrhenius equation is a simple, but remarkably accurate, formula for the temperature dependence of a chemical reaction rate, more correctly, of a rate coefficient, as this coefficient includes all magnitudes that affect reaction rate except for concentration. ... Image File history File links Nobel_prize_medal. ... List of Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to the present day. ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A chemist pours from a round-bottom flask. ... Physical chemistry is the application of physics to macroscopic, microscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems[1]within the field of chemistry traditionally using the principles, practices and concepts of thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics and kinetics. ... The Arrhenius equation is a simple, but remarkably accurate, formula for the temperature dependence of a chemical reaction rate, more correctly, of a rate coefficient, as this coefficient includes all magnitudes that affect reaction rate except for concentration. ... This article is about Earths moon. ... Look up crater in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Arrhenius is a lunar impact crater that is located just on the far side of the Moon, near the southwest limb. ...

Early years

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 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. Uppsala (older spelling Upsala) is a city in central Sweden, located about 70 km north of Stockholm. ... Surveyor at work with a leveling instrument. ... Uppsala University (Swedish Uppsala universitet) is a public university in Uppsala, Sweden. ... Arithmetic tables for children, Lausanne, 1835 Arithmetic or arithmetics (from the Greek word αριθμός = number) is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. ... A child prodigy is someone who is a master of one or more skills or arts at an early age. ...

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. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12 and Grade 13 (Discuss) Fifth grade (called Grade 5 in some regions) is a... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ...

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, Per Teodor Cleve, 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 focussed 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. It did not impress the professors, like Per Teodor Cleve, and he received the lowest possible passing grade. Later this very work would earn him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Per Teodor Cleve (Stockholm February 10, 1840 – Uppsala June 18, 1905) was a Swedish chemist and geologist. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... Year 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Electrical conductivity or specific conductivity is a measure of a materials ability to conduct an electric current. ... An electrolyte is a substance containing free ions that behaves as an electrically conductive medium. ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Per Teodor Cleve (Stockholm February 10, 1840 – Uppsala June 18, 1905) was a Swedish chemist and geologist. ... This is a list of Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to 2006. ...

There were 56 theses put forth in the 1884 dissertation, and 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. For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... In science and engineering, conductors are materials that contain movable charges of electricity. ...

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. Michael Faraday, FRS (September 22, 1791 – August 25, 1867) was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of that time) who contributed significantly to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. ... This article is about the electrically charged particle. ... This article is about the chemical process. ... Petrus Josephus Wilhelmus Debije (March 24, 1884 – November 2, 1966) was a Dutch physical chemist. ... Erich Armand Arthur Joseph Hückel (August 9, 1896 - February 16, 1980) was a German physicist and physical chemist. ...

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. Physical chemistry is the application of physics to macroscopic, microscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems[1]within the field of chemistry traditionally using the principles, practices and concepts of thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics and kinetics. ... Rudolf Clausius - physicist and mathematician Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius (January 2, 1822 – August 24, 1888), was a German physicist and mathematician. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (commonly just Wilhelm Ostwald) (September 2, 1853 - April 4, 1932) was a German chemist. ... Jacobus Henricus van t Hoff (August 30, 1852 - March 1, 1911) was a Dutch physical and organic chemist and the winner of the inaugural Nobel Prize in Chemistry. ...

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. For other uses, see Riga (disambiguation). ... Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Kohlrausch (Rinteln 1840 - Marburg 1910) was a physicist. ... Würzburg Residenz. ... Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (Vienna, Austrian Empire, February 20, 1844 – Duino near Trieste, September 5, 1906) was an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics and statistical thermodynamics. ... Graz [graːts] (Slovenian: Gradec), with a population of 305,000 (council census 2000) is the second-largest city in Austria and the capital of the province of Styria (Steiermark in German). ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ...

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. The sparks generated by striking steel against a flint provide the activation energy to initiate combustion in this Bunsen burner. ... The Arrhenius equation is a simple, but remarkably accurate, formula for the temperature dependence of a chemical reaction rate, more correctly, of a rate coefficient, as this coefficient includes all magnitudes that affect reaction rate except for concentration. ...

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. Stockholm University (Stockholms universitet) is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate someone who is in charge of something. ...

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.

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. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1910^[1]. This is a list of Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to 2006. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate someone who is in charge of something. ...

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. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Berkeley Davis Irvine Los Angeles Merced San Diego Santa Barbara Santa Cruz UC Office of the President in Oakland The University of California (UC) is a public university system in the state of California. ... For a list of biologically injurious substances, including toxins and other materials, as well as their effects, see poison. ... An antitoxin is an antibody with the ability to neutralize a specific toxin. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... For other uses, see Astronomy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the physics subject. ... Spiral Galaxy ESO 269-57 Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. ... This article is about the Solar System. ... Radiation pressure is the pressure exerted upon any surface exposed to electromagnetic radiation. ... Comet Hale-Bopp Comet West For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). ... A corona is a type of plasma atmosphere of the Sun or other celestial body, extending millions of kilometres into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but also observable in a coronagraph. ... Aurora borealis Polar aurorae are optical phenomena characterized by colorful displays of light in the night sky. ... The zodiacal light in the eastern sky before the beginning of morning twilight. ...

He thought life might have been carried from planet to planet by the transport of spores, the theory now known as panspermia. He thought of the idea of a universal language, proposing a modification of the English language. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Panspermia is a proven process (based on the principles of Biology, Microbiology, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, and assumption that life existed already in the universe) that explains how all life in the universe and/or solar system comes from a seed of life. ... The idea of a universal language is at least as old as the Biblical story of Babel. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

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. For alternative meanings see acid (disambiguation). ... The best STM agency in the world ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... ... Making a saline water solution by dissolving table salt (NaCl) in water This article is about chemical solutions. ...

In his last years he wrote both textbooks and popular books, trying to emphasize the need for further work on the topics he discussed.

In September, 1927, he came down with an attack of acute intestinal catarrh, died on October 2, and was buried in Uppsala. In anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine (or colon). ... Catarrh is a discharge or mucus blockage caused by the swelling of the mucous membranes. ...

Greenhouse effect as cause for ice ages

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 ("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 CO₂ and water vapour. Arrhenius' painstaking calculations were later shown to be erroneous. Using 'Stefan's law' (better known as the Stefan Boltzmann law), he formulated his greenhouse law. In its original form, Arrhenius' greenhouse law reads as follows: Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... A schematic representation of the exchanges of energy between outer space, the Earths atmosphere, and the Earth surface. ... Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier (March 21, 1768 - May 16, 1830) was a French mathematician and physicist who is best known for initiating the investigation of Fourier series and their application to problems of heat flow. ... Frank Washington Very (1852 – November 23, 1927) was a U.S. astronomer. ... Samuel Pierpont Langley. ... The Allegheny Observatory was founded on February 15, 1859 in the city of Allegheny, Pennsylvania. ... The Stefan-Boltzmann law, also known as Stefans law, states that the total energy radiated per unit surface area of a black body in unit time (known variously as the black-body irradiance, energy flux density, radiant flux, or the emissive power), j*, is directly proportional to the fourth...

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).

ΔF = αln(C/C₀)

Arrhenius' high absorption values for CO₂, however, 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 past climate changes for millions of years. Nowadays, the accepted explanation is that orbital forcing sets the timing for ice ages with CO₂ acting as an essential amplifying feedback. Knut Johan Ã…ngström (January 12, 1857-March 4, 1910) was a Swedish physicist. ... Milutin Milanković (1879-1958) Milutin Milanković (a. ... Milankovitch cycles are the collective effect of changes in the Earths movements upon its climate, named after Serbian civil engineer and mathematician Milutin Milanković. The eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession of the Earths orbit vary in several patterns, resulting in 100,000 year ice age cycles of the... Orbital forcing, or Milankovitch theory, describes the effect on climate of slow changes in the tilt of the Earths axis and shape of the orbit. ... Positive feedback is a feedback system in which the system responds to the perturbation in the same direction as the perturbation (It is sometimes referred to as cumulative causation). ...

Arrhenius estimated that halving of CO₂ would decrease temperatures by 4 - 5 °C and a doubling of CO₂ would cause a temperature rise of 5 - 6 degrees Celsius [1]or 7 - 11 degrees Fahrenheit. Recent (2007) estimates from IPCC say this value (the Climate sensitivity) is likely to be between 2 and 4.5 degrees. What is remarkable is that Arrhenius came so close to the most recent IPCC estimate. Arrhenius expected CO₂ 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 CO₂ doubling to take about 3000 years; it is now predicted to take about a century. IPCC is science authority for the UNFCCC The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess the risk of human-induced climate change. The Panel is open to all... In IPCC reports, equilibrium climate sensitivity refers to the equilibrium change in global mean surface temperature following a doubling of the atmospheric (equivalent) CO2 concentration. ...

See also

• Arrhenius equation
• Acid-base reaction theories

The Arrhenius equation is a simple, but remarkably accurate, formula for the temperature dependence of a chemical reaction rate, more correctly, of a rate coefficient, as this coefficient includes all magnitudes that affect reaction rate except for concentration. ... Acids and bases: Acid-base reaction theories pH Self-ionization of water Buffer solutions Systematic naming Electrochemistry Acid-base extraction Acids: Strong acids Weak acids Mineral acids Organic acids Bases: Strong bases Weak bases Organic bases edit An acid-base reaction is a chemical reaction between an acid and a...

Bibliography

• 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.

External links

• Nobel Lecture Development of the Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation from Nobelprize.org website
• Biography Biography from Nobelprize.org website
• Obs 50 (1927) 363 - Obituary (one paragraph)
• PASP 39 (1927) 385 - Obituary (one paragraph)
• Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927)

Further reading

• Snelders, H.A.M. (1970). "Arrhenius, Svante August". Dictionary of Scientific Biography 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 296-301. ISBN 0684101149. 
• Crawford, Elisabeth T. Arrhenius: from ionic theory to the greenhouse effect Canton, MA: Science History Publications. ISBN 0881351660