TITLE:
Open System Greenhouse Effect Laboratory Experiment-Original Data
AUTHORS:
Michael Nelson, David B. Nelson
KEYWORDS:
Climate Change, Greenhouse Effect, Open System, Laboratory Experiment, Greenhouse Gases, CO2, CH4, O3, Water Vapor, Infrared Detector
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.16 No.9,
September
23,
2025
ABSTRACT: This is the only Greenhouse Effect experiment conducted in an open system using natural conditions and concentrations. In the test, atmospheric air was blown through a chamber and exposed to infrared radiation of the type emitted by the Earth. The absorption temperature was measured by an infrared detector. The results showed that the greenhouse gases absorb the Earth’s infrared radiation, and adding CO2 into the air stream proved that it could increase the absorption temperature. As such, this laboratory experiment has confirmed the Greenhouse Effect hypothesis. However, the test data showed that it took large concentrations of the greenhouse gases to trigger any meaningful effects. The data demonstrated a logarithmic correlation with 99% accuracy. This relationship also corroborated a potential minimum activation concentration as well as a flattened peak, forming an equivalent maximum or saturation point. The data proved that water vapor constituted 93 to 97 percent of the natural greenhouse gases, and that CO2 at its current atmospheric concentration (0.042%) had no measurable effect on the absorption temperature. The data also showed that CO2 does not control atmospheric water vapor or absorption temperature; i.e., it is not a control knob. The data revealed that CO2 and water vapor moved in opposite directions 64% of the time, had differing paths and magnitudes 90% of the time, and exhibited an R2 of less than 10%. Concerning CH4, the data found no measurable infrared absorption, even at 241 times higher than its current level. The same observation occurred with O3 when the concentration was increased 2,500 times higher than normal. All three of these greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, O3) were too low at current atmospheric concentrations to trigger a response. Water vapor was the only one that showed a measurable absorption temperature at the natural concentrations. The tests with non-greenhouse gases Ar and He ruled out interference by thermal heat transfer mechanisms.