Stupid Science Questions

[The-King]

Carbon Monoxide is what burning fossil fuels produces, Carbon Dioxide is what animals like us exhale naturally which is a necessary part of the cycle of life.

[Mike Tequeli]

Ok, i want to know if it is possible to break Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into C and O using electrolysis (or some method using electricity). Because if it can then why don't countries reduce CO2 emissions by simply splitting it into carbon and oxygen. The oxygen can be put back into the air and the carbon can either be stored (i.e. underground, like they are planning on doing with CO2) or reacted with hydrogen and stuff to create organic compounds like polymers and all the stuff that they currently make from crude oil (whether that can be done or not is another question).

To my knowledge I believe that removing pollutants from the atmosphere isn't impossible but we don't have the technology to do it. It would be incredibly difficult to split every CO2 molecule into carbon and oxygen.

 

But if anybody knows anything else please contribute because I'd like to know how doable this is.

I was going to mention about all this Global Warming crap shouldn't be in a topic about Science, but then I remembered 'Stupid' is in the title.

 

Besides, we need CO2 in the atmosphere as part of the air that we breathe and for the plants to 'breathe' as well. So if anyone bullsh*ts about Global Warming, then just tell them we're feeding the plants.

Except that we are pumping way too much CO2 into the atmosphere. Its not the only pollutant that harms the environment. Whatever the case, it is getting warmer, ice caps are melting and somebody should probably do something about it. I always loved the idea of s sort of "deus ex machina" in real life, where instead of cutting down on pollution we just invent some amazing carbon cutting device.

 

But realistically that probably won't happen.

[Crokey]

Ok, i want to know if it is possible to break Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into C and O using electrolysis (or some method using electricity). Because if it can then why don't countries reduce CO2 emissions by simply splitting it into carbon and oxygen. The oxygen can be put back into the air and the carbon can either be stored (i.e. underground, like they are planning on doing with CO2) or reacted with hydrogen and stuff to create organic compounds like polymers and all the stuff that they currently make from crude oil (whether that can be done or not is another question).

To my knowledge I believe that removing pollutants from the atmosphere isn't impossible but we don't have the technology to do it. It would be incredibly difficult to split every CO2 molecule into carbon and oxygen.

 

But if anybody knows anything else please contribute because I'd like to know how doable this is.

I was going to mention about all this Global Warming crap shouldn't be in a topic about Science, but then I remembered 'Stupid' is in the title.

 

Besides, we need CO2 in the atmosphere as part of the air that we breathe and for the plants to 'breathe' as well. So if anyone bullsh*ts about Global Warming, then just tell them we're feeding the plants.

Except that we are pumping way too much CO2 into the atmosphere. Its not the only pollutant that harms the environment. Whatever the case, it is getting warmer, ice caps are melting and somebody should probably do something about it. I always loved the idea of s sort of "deus ex machina" in real life, where instead of cutting down on pollution we just invent some amazing carbon cutting device.

 

But realistically that probably won't happen.

Except we aren't, the amount of CO2 being produced by us Humans can be catered for by the forests of North America alone, which on a continental scale is tiny compared to the world (don't forget there is the Congo and Amazon rain forests which are huge). Yes there are other pollutants being thrown into the atmosphere but these are not a contributing factor to a warming event, of which a man-made contribution is none existent as Global Warming itself doesn't exist, Climate Change does, but isn't man made and it isn't a temperature thing it's a pattern thing.

 

The main problem I have is that people think of CO2 as being a one way mirror in that sunlight gets in but doesn't get out, it can't be a one way mirror Carbon particles don't have that property. If there is any warming of the earth it is purely natural, due to several factors, the recent increase of sunspot activity which has a heavy radioactive effect on the Earth, the fact that several planets aligned themselves within the past few years the gravitational effect of which causes havoc with weather patterns, this has been proven using methods such as tree rings, geology and ice core samples. The magnetic poles of the earth are currently in a state of flux which can be attributed to the planetary alignment, this too causes weather patterns to shift, but the same amount of rain still falls, think of the water cycle , it's just that the pattern is changing.

 

Also if you look through history then you'll find that there is a rather large land mass in the North Atlantic called Greenland, ironically named considering it's very white and snowy there, but when the land was discovered by the Vikings it was all lush and green because Global Temperatures were 2 degreesC hotter than they were today... Those pesky Vikings and their Carbon belching SUV's. Also ironically enough several well respected magazines reported in the 70's that we were heading for an ice-age as Global temperatures since the early part of the 20th century had dropped considerably and now all of a sudden we're heading for Global Meltdown

 

So if you think that we as humans can f*ck with Mother Nature we're as dumb as Al Gore, I could go on but what I've written is plenty to chew over, as I'm not going to go into the politics over Global Warming being a con by the big countries to keep the smaller undeveloped countries from developing, by limiting their industries.

[Mike Tequeli]

Ok, i want to know if it is possible to break Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into C and O using electrolysis (or some method using electricity). Because if it can then why don't countries reduce CO2 emissions by simply splitting it into carbon and oxygen. The oxygen can be put back into the air and the carbon can either be stored (i.e. underground, like they are planning on doing with CO2) or reacted with hydrogen and stuff to create organic compounds like polymers and all the stuff that they currently make from crude oil (whether that can be done or not is another question).

To my knowledge I believe that removing pollutants from the atmosphere isn't impossible but we don't have the technology to do it. It would be incredibly difficult to split every CO2 molecule into carbon and oxygen.

 

But if anybody knows anything else please contribute because I'd like to know how doable this is.

I was going to mention about all this Global Warming crap shouldn't be in a topic about Science, but then I remembered 'Stupid' is in the title.

 

Besides, we need CO2 in the atmosphere as part of the air that we breathe and for the plants to 'breathe' as well. So if anyone bullsh*ts about Global Warming, then just tell them we're feeding the plants.

Except that we are pumping way too much CO2 into the atmosphere. Its not the only pollutant that harms the environment. Whatever the case, it is getting warmer, ice caps are melting and somebody should probably do something about it. I always loved the idea of s sort of "deus ex machina" in real life, where instead of cutting down on pollution we just invent some amazing carbon cutting device.

 

But realistically that probably won't happen.

Except we aren't, the amount of CO2 being produced by us Humans can be catered for by the forests of North America alone, which on a continental scale is tiny compared to the world (don't forget there is the Congo and Amazon rain forests which are huge). Yes there are other pollutants being thrown into the atmosphere but these are not a contributing factor to a warming event, of which a man-made contribution is none existent as Global Warming itself doesn't exist, Climate Change does, but isn't man made and it isn't a temperature thing it's a pattern thing.

 

The main problem I have is that people think of CO2 as being a one way mirror in that sunlight gets in but doesn't get out, it can't be a one way mirror Carbon particles don't have that property. If there is any warming of the earth it is purely natural, due to several factors, the recent increase of sunspot activity which has a heavy radioactive effect on the Earth, the fact that several planets aligned themselves within the past few years the gravitational effect of which causes havoc with weather patterns, this has been proven using methods such as tree rings, geology and ice core samples. The magnetic poles of the earth are currently in a state of flux which can be attributed to the planetary alignment, this too causes weather patterns to shift, but the same amount of rain still falls, think of the water cycle , it's just that the pattern is changing.

 

Also if you look through history then you'll find that there is a rather large land mass in the North Atlantic called Greenland, ironically named considering it's very white and snowy there, but when the land was discovered by the Vikings it was all lush and green because Global Temperatures were 2 degreesC hotter than they were today... Those pesky Vikings and their Carbon belching SUV's. Also ironically enough several well respected magazines reported in the 70's that we were heading for an ice-age as Global temperatures since the early part of the 20th century had dropped considerably and now all of a sudden we're heading for Global Meltdown

 

So if you think that we as humans can f*ck with Mother Nature we're as dumb as Al Gore, I could go on but what I've written is plenty to chew over, as I'm not going to go into the politics over Global Warming being a con by the big countries to keep the smaller undeveloped countries from developing, by limiting their industries.

The attitude that we cannot possibly do sh*t to nature has gotten us quite a few extinct species. The data says that carbon levels are higher now then ever, and not surprising it just jumps up from the Industrial Revolution. The weather is getting noticeably hotter and erratic and I wouldn't pin this on some ridiculously fast moving climate change event (they tend to take quite a while). Again the ice is melting at an alarming rate, that was never really in much question, I've seen several glaciers that have gotten progressively smaller since 1950.

Also Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas, its presence in large quantities will cause exponential temperature increase. Venus has an atmosphere of 95% CO2 and because of this the temperature is 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The scientific consensus is that humanity has contributed to global warming in a big way.

[vALKYR]

My favourite theory says that every time anybody makes any kind of decision, time branches off and a parallel universe is formed. This means that the number of parallel universes is so close to infinite as to make no difference. I am personally responsible for hundreds of thousands being formed in the time it's taken me to write this post, with deletions and alterations to this text, the cigarette I lit, the sip of beer I took, not diving headfirst through my front room window etc etc. In a parallel universe somewhere, I don't finish this post, as I decide to take my own life before hitting Add Reply. In another, a convoluted series of events determined by the choices of others leads to a grand piano falling through the roof of my house. I could decide to jump in the air, break my ankle, and meet someone in hospital who leaves everything to me in his will before he dies.

 

I love this sh*t.

Imagining the 10th Dimension.

[xtal256]

 

Besides, we need CO2 in the atmosphere as part of the air that we breathe and for the plants to 'breathe' as well.  So if anyone bullsh*ts about Global Warming, then just tell them we're feeding the plants.

Yes, but we're pumping far too much CO2 into the atmosphere, more than plants can handle. EDIT: oops, sorry Mike i didn't realise you said the exact same thing . I know that CO2 isn't bad, hell i don't think that this whole Global Warming thing is the end of the world. But we are definitely changing it, that's undeniable. Scientists have found that forests are absorbing so much CO2 that the trees just can't convert all of it to cellulose and whatever else plants make. So instead they are just storing it until they die (either naturally or bulldozed down by humans) and then they release the CO2 back into the air when they decompose. So Global Warming is probably going to get worse before it gets better, and that's even if we cease all CO2 production right now.

 

And as for my question, if it is doable then all people/companies/governments need to do is put a small generator on the roof of their building that is solar powered and slowly takes in CO2, outputs O2 and leaves the carbon to be collected (by who?). Running 24/7 it would at least reduce that building's CO2 output by a reasonable amount. Of course cost is the main issue which is why no one is doing it.

 

 

Carbon Monoxide is what burning fossil fuels produces, Carbon Dioxide is what animals like us exhale naturally which is a necessary part of the cycle of life.

At first i misread what you said but then i realised you said "fossil fuels" as in pure (almost) carbon, right? But that should still produce CO2 if burned correctly i think. If you burn one C it with 2 O then the reaction would be C + 2O = CO2 right? (please excuse me if my chemical equations are wrong, it's been a while since i studied Chemistry).

 

 

 

Imagining the 10th Dimension.

K^2 said here that that's mostly just made up and that there (in the video) are only 7 dimensions at the most.

Edited June 6, 2008 by Haro

[GTA3Freak-2001]

This topic is for stupid science questions not stupid science debates, lets just agree that the climate is changing and we are simply contributing to it.

[HolyGrenadeFrenzy]

 

This topic is for stupid science questions not stupid science debates, lets just agree that the climate is changing and we are simply contributing to it.

Last year had the most Tornadoes on record for North America. This year has more than doubled that new record set last year and the season is just beginning.

 

Something is going on and the sooth sayers have been saying this for awhile now.

 

Could it be just a natural patern that we are entering? Sure

 

Could it be that we have contributed to the issues that led to this Meteorological and Climateological point in history? Sure and that may even be quite likely.

 

Is there anything we can do about our situation? Yes, and people are reluctant to do what is necessary it seems.

 

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On Topic

 

Does humanity care enough about itself to do what is necessary to save its species from extinction?

 

Will it be in majorities or in elite minorities?

 

 

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These need some answers because the elite minorities are going to use the rest of us to save themselves and let the rest of us die if we do not decide to get onboard with things and make some moves of our own.