Quote:First off, a scientist would know that the error in such an experiment totally swamps any temperature change from using CO2 instead of air. The glass in the bell jars absorbs most of the IR before it even reaches the CO2.


The actual lie is in the showing of the two thermometers (starting around 1:12). The two side by side thermometers are the exact same image with the blue alcohol line photoshopped in. WattsUpWithThat did an image comparison, and they were exactly the same pixel for pixel except for the blue line. The thermometer images were also taken from outside the bell jars, since you can see the distortion caused by the jar glass on the thermometers in the earlier wide angle photo.

1) You are making a lot of assumptions. First, depending on the glass type it will reflect some infrared light because the glass itself has a refractive index that is different from the air. It will also absorb some of the infrared light, but this is also dependent on the type of glass. The dessicators have a fairly thick glass but they are also transparent so they will retain some infrared energy but also allow some infrared to pass through. But the glass isn't why the temperature is rising in the dessicator with the CO2. The thermal properties of gaseous CO2 are why the temperature rises. This experiment is purely an illustration of the greenhouse effect. That is all. The greenhouse effect is due to absorbed thermal radiation on the earth being re-emitted back into the atmosphere. Certain gases such as carbon dioxide have the ability to absorb thermal radiation in the form of infrared radiation and re-emit back to the environment glcrraring a positive feedback loop. Carbon thus acts as a thermal insulator. I believe you have a poor understanding of the greenhouse effect, which is all this experiment is demonstrating. How it relates to Climate Change? Well the emission of greenhouse gases by humans is thought to be strongly correlated with accelerated (the rate of change) climate change. 



<a class="bbc_url" href='https://scied.ucar.edu/carbon-dioxide-absorbs-and-re-emits-infrared-radiation'>https://scied.ucar.edu/carbon-dioxide-absorbs-and-re-emits-infrared-radiation</a>

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