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QUESTION ON NOTICE

Question:

22 February 2022

The first law of Thermodynamics state that energy can neither be created or destroyed. Applying that law to Climate change science, how is it that an increase in CO2 levels of 100 ppm in the atmosphere can increase the temperature by 1 degree? That would imply that every extra CO2 molecule has to heat up 10,000 other molecules by 1 degree would it not? (i.e. a million over a hundred molecules) . Assuming CO2 has a specific density of 1.53 in the atmosphere doesn’t this mean that a CO2 molecule would have a temperature of 10,000/1.53 of 6,536 degrees to heat up the surrounding 10,000 molecules by 1 degree which of course is impossible?

Answer:

Question Number: 34
PDR Number: AI-34
Date Submitted: 22/02/2022
Department or Body: Industry, Science, Engergy and Resources

Please see answers previously provided at BI-7 and BI-34 from Budget Estimates 2020-21, and AI-57 from Additional Estimates 2020-2021. For questions relating to fundamental physics the relevant information is captured in the following reference material:

The IPCC AR6 WG1 report Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis – https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/

The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology State of the Climate 2020 report – https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/climate-change/state-of-the-climate

The Academy of Science The Science of Climate Change: Questions and Answers report from 2015 – https://www.science.org.au/education/immunisation-climate-change-geneticmodification/science-climate-change

Mathez, E.A., & Smerdon, J.E. (2018). Climate Change: The Science of Global Warming and Our Energy Future. (2nd Ed.). Columbia University Press: New York – http://cup.columbia.edu/book/climate-change/9780231172837

Krauss, L.M. (2021). The Physics of Climate Change. Post Hill Press: New York – https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Physics-of-Climate-Change/Lawrence-MKrauss/9781642938166

Relevant links to calculators:

Evaluate the Planck Function: https://ncc.nesdis.noaa.gov/data/planck.html
Wiens Law (+ many others): https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/wiens-law
Integrals of Plancks function: https://www.spectralcalc.com/blackbody_calculator/blackbody.php (background info at: https://www.spectralcalc.com/blackbody/blackbody.html)

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