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- History of Compound
- Physical / Chemical Properties
- Uses of Compound
- Where is CO2 Found?
- Explanation of Structure
- References
Discovery:
Jan Baptista Van Helmont (1580-1644) from Flanders, was the first to recognize carbon dioxide. Around 1630, he noticed a gas releasing from burning wood. This was carbon dioxide but he didn't know better. He ended up calling this gas "sylvestre" which meant wood gas. With this compound in mind, he realized that the air that we breathe, is not just one gas, but more than one gas combined.
Early Studies of Compound
Some of the most important studies of carbon dioxide were made in 1756 by Scottish Joseph Black (1728-1799). This famous chemist, proved that carbon dioxide, called fixed air back then, was in our Earth's atmosphere and that the air being exhaled by humans was indeed carbon dioxide.