The interactive slideshow Doodle for today celebrates the 204th birthday of Eunice Newton Foote, an American scientist and advocate for women’s rights. Foote’s groundbreaking discovery of the greenhouse effect and its impact on Earth’s climate is highlighted in the Doodle. By clicking through the Doodle, users can explore the process behind Foote’s scientific breakthrough.
Eunice Newton Foote was born on this day in 1819 in Connecticut. She attended the Troy Female Seminary, a school that encouraged scientific learning and practical engagement in chemistry labs. While science became her lifelong passion, Foote also devoted time to advocating for women’s rights. In 1848, she participated in the first Woman’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, where she became the fifth signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments, a document demanding equality for women in various aspects of society.
During a time when women were excluded from the scientific community, Foote conducted independent experiments. By placing mercury thermometers in glass cylinders, she observed that the cylinder containing carbon dioxide experienced the greatest heating effect in the presence of sunlight. Foote was the first scientist to establish a connection between increasing carbon dioxide levels and the warming of the atmosphere, recognizing what is now known as the greenhouse effect.
After publishing her findings, Foote went on to present her second study on atmospheric static electricity in the Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. These publications marked the first two physics studies by a woman in the United States. Around 1856, a male scientist presented her work at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which led to further experiments revealing the greenhouse effect, where gases like carbon dioxide trap solar heat and gradually raise the Earth’s atmospheric temperature.
Today, scientists worldwide continue to advance climate science based on the foundation laid by Eunice Newton Foote. Her contributions and discoveries have been instrumental in understanding the dynamics of Earth’s climate.
Happy 204th Birthday, Eunice Newton Foote!
Read more at : https://www.google.com/doodles/eunice-newton-footes-204th-birthday
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