September 27, 2023

Stephanie Khoury

12th Grade

West Ranch High School

Eunice Newton Foote (1819-1888) was a women's rights activist and scientist. In her childhood, she never took an interest in science. It was only when she was introduced to the subject in her adolescence while studying at the Troy Female Seminary School that she began to develop a strong passion for it. 

While exploring her new-found passion, she began to experiment. Her most notable experiment included her using thermometers to compare the temperatures of air and carbon dioxide. In her lab, she took two cylindrical tubes and placed carbon dioxide in one and air in the other. Next, she placed the thermometers in them, left them outside, and then checked back after some time. After enough time had passed, she noticed the cylindrical tube with carbon dioxide got much hotter than the cylindrical tube with air. From there, she was able to conclude that when carbon dioxide gets exposed to UV rays, it causes temperatures to rise. 

Post-experiment, she began to apply her research in terms of our world and came to the conclusion that if there is a higher accumulation of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, our world will begin heating up to extreme extents. This discovery was a simplification of today’s greenhouse effect. 

For a period where the properties of carbon dioxide were yet to be discovered, this was a scientific breakthrough. Newton Foote was the first to document it in her 1856 research paper titled Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays; however, despite the importance of the contribution, many people didn’t give it any attention.

This was mainly because she was a science novice and was a woman. As a result, most people saw her research as untrustworthy and instead gave credit for her discovery to John Tyndall, who discovered the same theory years later.

However, year after year, people are recognizing Newton Foote for her initial discovery that started it all. Hopefully, her contributions will continue to be recognized as time passes.