MOLECULES: atmospheric carbon dioxide, CO₂ molecules

Atmospheric carbon dioxide molecules image: picture showing carbon dioxide molecules in the sky representing the atmospheric increase in CO₂ caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

Image is 500 x 500 pixels; the original image is 4096 x 4096 pixels.

Carbon dioxide consists of two oxygen atoms covalently joined to a central carbon atom. The three atoms lie in a line (it is a linear molecule). The central carbon atom (black) is pictured as a sphere drawn at the scale of the carbon covalent radius just touching two oxygen atoms (red) drawn at the scale of their covalent radii. The transparent spheres represent the van der Waals surfaces of the carbon and oxygen atoms.

Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are considered a major threat to the Earth because of the capacity of CO₂ to modify the climate by insulating the surface and so creating a GREENHOUSE EFFECT. There is a major debate about the future sources of energy in Australia as nuclear power is compared with fossil fuels such as coal in an attempt to prevent global warming.

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GLOBAL WARMING POSTERS
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LINKS TO MAJOR GREENHOUSE GAS MOLECULAR IMAGES:

• Carbon Dioxide, CO₂
• Methane, CH₄
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCS)
• Perfluorocarbons (PFCS)
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCS)
• Nitrous oxide, N₂O
• Nitrogen trifluoride, NF₃
• Sulfur hexafluoride, SF₆