Historical Background of CO₂

In the Beginning there was CO₂......

    It is thought that about four and half billion years ago, Earth's atmosphere was mostly composed of  CO₂ (about 1,000,000 ppm) which would make Earth's atmospheric composition much like Venus' or Mars'. It is hypothesized that the percent of carbon dioxide has been dropping ever since. Five hundred million years ago the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere is said to have been 7,500 ppm. At three hundred years ago the amount is estimated to be about what it is today (about 370 ppm). 

However, before man could hypothesize about the percent composition of CO₂, man had to discover it. And so he did. 

    CO₂ was discovered by the Belgian chemist, Jan Baptist van Helmont. Helmont lived from 1580 to 1644 and during the course of his lifetime he was the first scientist to distinguish between gasses and air. Using biochemistry, he compared the fermentation of grape juice and the burning of coal and discovered that they gave off a similar product which he called  "spiritus sylvestre" (wild spirit), but would become famous as Carbon Dioxide. This fantastic discovery subsequently led to his discovery of the CO₂ molecule and his place of honor on this website.