Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Svante Arrhenius
open-in-new
<p>Svante August Arrhenius was a Swedish <a href="/facts/Scientist/JDvthEFM">scientist</a>. Originally a <a href="/facts/Physicist/cQcgvSIm">physicist</a>, but often referred to as a <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a>, Arrhenius was one of the founders of the science of <a href="/facts/Physical_chemistry/WqwnJjRM">physical chemistry</a>. In 1903, he received the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Nobel Prize in Chemistry</a>, becoming the first <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Swedish</a> Nobel laureate. In 1905, he became the director of the Nobel Institute, where he remained until his death. </p><p>Arrhenius was the first to use the principles of <a href="/facts/Physical_chemistry/WqwnJjRM">physical chemistry</a> to estimate the extent to which increases in the atmospheric <a href="/facts/Carbon_dioxide/xGzpppEp">carbon dioxide</a> are responsible for the Earth's increasing surface temperature. His work played an important role in the emergence of modern <a href="/facts/Climatology/bYS7FktY">climate science</a>. In the 1960s, <a href="/facts/Charles_David_Keeling/o2YFEXwb">Charles David Keeling</a> reliably measured the level of carbon dioxide present in the air showing it was increasing and that, according to the greenhouse hypothesis, it was sufficient to cause significant <a href="/facts/Global_warming/rEN4BDE7">global warming</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Arrhenius_equation/TdAeo3Lf">Arrhenius equation</a>, <a href="/facts/Acid%E2%80%93base_reaction/z8pbL0X8">Arrhenius acid</a>, Arrhenius base, <a href="/facts/Moon/zKHqEMPb">lunar</a> <a href="/facts/Impact_crater/nWntooh4">crater</a> <a href="/facts/Arrhenius_(lunar_crater)/SCQNENaV">Arrhenius</a>, <a href="/facts/Mars/AQGtVvz0">Martian</a> crater <a href="/facts/Arrhenius_(Martian_crater)/BRh3xRsq">Arrhenius</a>, the mountain of <a href="/facts/Arrheniusfjellet/e2YtJWh8">Arrheniusfjellet</a>, and the Arrhenius Labs at <a href="/facts/Stockholm_University/zp9Cna5D">Stockholm University</a> were so named to commemorate his contributions to science. </p>