Image from our outside of class-run of the experiment

For too many people, the concept of global warming is a nebulous thing. It cannot be directly heard, seen, tasted or smelled, and can only be felt when one considers the difference between several distantly separated years. Thus, if an experiment or diorama could theoretically place the effects and evidence of global warming within the realm of human sensation, it may do much to further society’s comprehension of the principles of climate change. It was with this purpose in mind that we set out to design our final lab experiment.

Our first task was to determine precisely which elements of global climate change we sought to put on display in our lab. Once it was determined that capturing/measuring fluorocarbons and estimating vehicular emissions were impractical for this situation, we began to think in terms of the larger process, rather than microscopic details. This allowed for our breakthrough, which was the decision to show the heating of the Earth with an enhanced atmosphere relative to one with little or no atmosphere. After some careful deliberation and research over how to best exemplify this, we arrived at the model we sought to test; it had two cups of water acting as “planets”, a Ziploc bag representing a polluted atmosphere, and a stage light or work light providing the heat normally emitted by the sun.

The procedure for our lab was simple, yet lengthy in time required for the full results to become available. The first step was to fill both cups with an equal amount of water (while this latter detail may seem modest, it is actually quite crucial, as vastly different amounts of liquid would warm at incongruent rates). One cup was then carefully placed in a Ziploc bag and sealed, thus becoming “polluted earth”; in our lab’s control variable, the second cup would be left outside a bag to represent a healthier climate. Both cups were then to be placed under the direct glare of a shop light or studio light, so as to simulate the effect of the sun radiating upon the Earth. Every thirty minutes for two hours, the temperature of each cup was to be recorded.

Two runs of our experiment were done, with the results below. We completed test One outside of the classroom, whereas Test Two was done in the classroom.

Test One:

Sealed Cup

Open Cup

Test Two:

Sealed Cup

Open Cup

graph

A view from the in-class run of our experiment

The most notable feature of the tables above is that Test Two contains less data than Test One, despite reaching greater temperatures than either sample in Test One. This is due to time constraints within the classroom; in order to have the experiment produce some valid data within a shorter period of time, the cups were placed far closer to the light source. So while only two readings were available, it gave us results that correspond perfectly to our unfettered run outside of the classroom.

As the data indicates, the temperature trends for the “planets” with “enhanced or polluted atmospheres” increased at a far greater pace than for those without such added layers. Why did this happen, scientifically speaking? The underlying cause in our experiment is the same for that of the real Earth. The atmosphere surrounding the planet does more than simply block out harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun, it also acts as an insulator, trapping radiation from being reflected off the Earth’s surface and back into interplanetary space. As the density of the atmosphere increases, so to does the amount of light withheld, and in turn the temperature or climate.

While our experiment may have been a simple diorama, it is critical that people begin to more fully comprehend the principles the experiment represents. Climate change, as little as it may be felt at any given moment, is a real and testable phenomenon. Should it go too much further, ecosystems across the planet would be negatively affected, as will geography once the polar ice caps have fully melted. It would take centuries to repair the damage already wrought by humanity’s excessive use of carbon and carbon equivalents. But we must start somewhere, mustn’t we?

Capturing a Reading