Carbon dioxide

From Conservapedia

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is an odorless, colorless gas formed by the oxidation of hydrocarbons, both naturally, in animals, and artificially, as fuel^[1]. It is one of the human body's major waste products, being excreted through exhalation.

It is used by plants in the process of photosynthesis to create complex carbohydrates (cellulose and sugars), using water and the energy from sunlight. The waste product in this process is oxygen.

At room temperature and atmospheric pressure, carbon dioxide is a gas. It becomes solid at -78 ºC at standard atmospheric pressure, forming dry ice. When it thaws, it turns directly into a gas again (called sublimation). ^[2] This can be seen from the phase diagram to the right, where at 1 atmosphere of pressure, there is no liquid state separating the solid and gas as temperature rises.

CO₂ is one of the so-called greenhouse gases. Heat-trapping by CO₂ has been observed on Earth and Venus. The extent of its role in the current increase in average global temperatures is a topic of active political and scientific debate.

The Lewis structure indicates it has two double bonds:

[edit] References

1. ↑ If not enough oxygen is present, carbon monoxide will also be produced, in a process called incomplete combustion.
2. ↑ "Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. A block of dry ice has a surface temperature of -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit (-78.5 degrees C). Dry ice also has the very nice feature of sublimation -- as it breaks down, it turns directly into carbon dioxide gas rather than a liquid." How Stuff Works