The greenhouse effect is a process where heat is trapped near Earth’s surface by substances like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases. These gases act as insulating glass walls, trapping heat and causing Earth to become warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. The greenhouse effect has far-ranging environmental and health effects, including climate change, respiratory disease from smog, and air pollution.
Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, absorb heat and trap extra heat near Earth’s surface. Higher concentrations of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), are causing extra heat to be trapped and average global temperatures to rise. Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas, increasing as the Earth’s atmosphere warms. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, can absorb far more heat than carbon dioxide and is made up of one carbon and four hydrogen atoms.
Greenhouse gases, like CO2 and water vapor, can effectively absorb the wavelengths associated with “heat” or infrared radiation, creating a greenhouse effect that results in global warming and climate change. By adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, the strength of the greenhouse effect changes, contributing to human-made climate change.
📹 But HOW Does Carbon Dioxide Trap Heat?
We all know about the greenhouse effect, but how many of us actually understand it? Turns out, CO2 is not a “blanket,” and saying …
How do greenhouse gases trap heat?
Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide, are molecules made of three or more atoms that vibrate when they absorb heat, releasing radiation that is absorbed by another greenhouse gas molecule. Nitrogen and oxygen are the majority of gases in the atmosphere, which cannot absorb heat and contribute to the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide, made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms, has a small fraction of the atmosphere but has a significant effect on climate.
The concentration of carbon dioxide has increased since 2015, reaching over 400 ppm. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, absorbs more heat than carbon dioxide and is found in small quantities but has a significant impact on warming. Methane gas is also used as a fuel, releasing carbon dioxide greenhouse gas when burned.
What gas absorbs the Sun’s heat in the atmosphere?
The majority of the Sun’s energy (20%) is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane. These gases also absorb heat energy from Earth’s surface. This process has been occurring for billions of years, but human activity, particularly burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, has disrupted the balance of greenhouse gases. This has led to climate change, as the more greenhouse gases we release, the more heat they absorb, causing Earth to become warmer.
Why do greenhouse gases trap heat?
Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide, are molecules made of three or more atoms that vibrate when they absorb heat, releasing radiation that is absorbed by another greenhouse gas molecule. Nitrogen and oxygen are the majority of gases in the atmosphere, which cannot absorb heat and contribute to the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide, made up of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms, has a small fraction of the atmosphere but has a significant effect on climate.
The concentration of carbon dioxide has increased since 2015, reaching over 400 ppm. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, absorbs more heat than carbon dioxide and is found in small quantities but has a significant impact on warming. Methane gas is also used as a fuel, releasing carbon dioxide greenhouse gas when burned.
What greenhouse gas absorbs heat?
Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, absorbs more heat than carbon dioxide and is found in small amounts in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect, a natural process, causes energy from the Sun to be waylaid in the atmosphere, absorbed, and released by greenhouse gases. Without the greenhouse effect, Earth’s temperature would be below freezing. However, as greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere, the effect becomes stronger, warming the planet’s climate.
Solar energy absorbed at Earth’s surface is radiated back into the atmosphere as heat. Greenhouse gases absorb much of this heat, as they are more complex than other gas molecules in the atmosphere. They radiate the heat back to Earth’s surface, another greenhouse gas molecule, or out to space.
What greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere?
The greenhouse effect is the natural warming of the Earth caused by the trapping of heat in the atmosphere by gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor. These gases help keep the planet warm, allowing life on Earth to thrive. However, the burning of fossil fuels for energy is amplifying the natural greenhouse effect, leading to an increase in global warming and altering the planet’s climate system.
The greenhouse effect was first identified in the 1800s and is a result of the trapping of heat from the sun by atmospheric gases. Solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions include reducing carbon dioxide emissions, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting renewable energy sources.
Which gas in the atmosphere traps heat rays?
Carbon dioxide is a gas present in the atmosphere that absorbs thermal radiation reflected by the Earth.
What greenhouse gases trap heat?
Greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor, trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. Natural compounds and synthetic fluorinated gases also play a role. These gases have different chemical properties and are removed from the atmosphere through various processes. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by carbon sinks like forests, soil, and the ocean, while fluorinated gases are destroyed by sunlight in the upper atmosphere.
The influence of a greenhouse gas on global warming depends on three factors: its presence in the atmosphere (measured in parts per million, parts per billion, or parts per trillion), its lifetime (measured in ppm), and its effectiveness in trapping heat (measured in GWP), which is the total energy a gas absorbs over time relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide.
What are the heat trapping gases called greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gases, or GHGs, are gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat, keeping the Earth’s temperature at an average of 14˚C (57˚F). These gases act like glass walls, trapping heat during the day and releasing it at night. Without the greenhouse effect, temperatures could drop to -18˚C (-0. 4˚F), too cold for life on Earth. However, human activities are altering the natural greenhouse effect, leading to a dramatic increase in greenhouse gas release, which scientists believe is the cause of global warming and climate change.
How greenhouse gases in the atmosphere contribute to the heating of Earth’s climate?
Greenhouse gases, which absorb energy and act as a blanket, contribute to the Earth’s warming. This process, known as the “greenhouse effect”, is natural and necessary for life. However, human activities have led to a significant increase in greenhouse gases, causing harmful effects on human health, welfare, and ecosystems. Key greenhouse gases include burning fossil fuels, clearing forests, fertilizing crops, storing waste in landfills, raising livestock, and producing industrial products.
Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas contributing to climate change, entering the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels, solid waste, trees, and chemical reactions. It is absorbed and emitted naturally through respiration, volcanic eruptions, and ocean-atmosphere exchange.
What is the most natural greenhouse warming due to in the atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide is Earth’s most crucial greenhouse gas, absorbing and radiating heat from the Earth’s surface. It is responsible for supercharging the natural greenhouse effect, causing global temperature rise. In 2021, the NOAA Global Monitoring Lab observed that carbon dioxide alone was responsible for two-thirds of the total heating influence of all human-produced greenhouse gases. Additionally, carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, reacting with water molecules to produce carbonic acid and lowering the ocean’s pH.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the pH of the ocean’s surface waters has dropped from 8. 21 to 8. 10, causing ocean acidification. This drop in pH is referred to as ocean acidification, and a healthy ocean snail has a transparent shell with smooth contoured ridges, while a shell exposed to more acidic, corrosive waters is cloudy, ragged, and pockmarked with ‘kinks’ and weak spots.
What traps heat in the atmosphere?
Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and are primarily emitted through burning fossil fuels, solid waste, trees, and chemical reactions. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas, which is removed from the atmosphere when absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle. Methane (CH4) is emitted during coal, natural gas, and oil production, livestock, agricultural practices, land use, and organic waste decay. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is emitted during agricultural, land use, and industrial activities, combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste, and wastewater treatment.
Fluorinated gases, such as hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride, are synthetic, powerful greenhouse gases emitted from various household, commercial, and industrial applications. They are sometimes used as substitutes for stratospheric ozone-depleting substances, with high-GWP gases capturing substantially more heat than CO2. Additional compounds in the atmosphere, such as solid and liquid aerosols and water vapor and ground-level ozone, can also impact the climate.
📹 CO2: How an essential greenhouse gas is heating up the planet
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a naturally occurring greenhouse gas and is essential for life on Earth to function normally. However …
Wow, for years I’ve tried to understand the greenhouse effect and global warming. I heard about it in primary school all the way to college, yet, I never understood as I understand it now after perusal your article. So, thank you. And you know, that last example with the nuclear bomb was just jaw dropping, and perfectly reflects how crucial action on carbon emissions is.
This is a good Part 1 because it includes 9:37 to 9:56 instead of the usual annoying irrelevance “absorbs and then re-emits 50% back down to the surface”. This is Part 1 which is only ABSORPTION in the air. There’s a required Part 2 that is absent from this article. Part 2 is MANUFACTURE in the air. Hint: Presenter never states the phrase “tropospheric temperature lapse rate”, but it’s ESSENTIAL because, guess what, ….. cooler parcels of matter radiate less than warmer parcels of matter (the stratospheric “greenhouse effect” is backwards).
Well done! “uses the energy from photons to make nearby molecules move faster”. . Energy states (the O-C-O relationship) in CO2 are quantum. They only change in quantum amounts. That is why CO2 has only a few narrow bandwidth of photons it can absorb. In fact, each bandwith would be a thin line (not a tiny normal distribution of frequencies around that thin line) if it wasn’t for the Doppler effect (molecules are moving at about the speed of sound). A crash between two molecules isn’t quantum (think about the infinite number of ways that N2 can approach CO2 as the Oxygen molecules vibrate towards and away from the incoming N2). So, no energy is transferred because a higher CO2 state can’t collaspe to its stable state. It’s all or nothing. The change in energy (potential to photonic) has to be exact (quantum). That is why a crash results in nothing or it results in the only quantum action available–creation of nearly the same photonic energy that was absorbed. So at about a billion times a second (how often crashes occur), the energy from a photon is converted to potential energy inside a CO2 molecule and then back to photonic energy. So what causes the air to warm if not from Kinetic transfer? IR ends up taking a tortured path to space (it takes a few weeks). Pinballing between H2O and CO2 molecules until, a few weeks later, the energy finally escapes to space. But in the meantime, incoming irradiation doesn’t stop, waiting for the IR to reach space. So IR accumulates for a while causing temperatures rise until a new balance is achieved (higher temperatures support higher levels of IR).
I guess methane has more vibration modes to cause the dipole effect so it absorbs more IR energy? Is this what causes it to be a more intense greenhouse gas? I think some of us would like a short article on how these other greenhouse gases such a methane, CFC and HFCS differ from CO2. Thanks for your great chemistry articles. Very informative.
I really loved this article, it has helped me to better understand the underlying science of climate change. There are still questions that I have, but this article has helped me a lot. One question that I would like to be answered is whether the level of CO2 in the atmosphere will ever reach a point that the greenhouse effect becomes saturated. Is there a point at which adding more CO2 to the atmosphere makes no difference?
The speaker recommends reading the 14K-word Encyclopedia Britannica article about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, in order to understand what it is. That’s one idea. A better idea, which might unfortunately take a little longer, would be to learn calculus (that’s a math course), and then learn a bit about differential equations (that’s another math course), and then take a course in quantum mechanics (a physics course). It’ll take longer than reading a 14K-word article, but you’ll know the subject better when you’re done, and you’ll be able to do several kinds of engineering as well.
Nice, but this explanation of Greenhouse Effect is still quite oversimplified. For starters: The air Pressure also plays a role, as it influences air Density, and that changes with Altitude. In turn, air Temperature varies with Altitude, so the intensity of the Greenhouse Effect also varies with pressure/altitude. Then there is the feedback effect of the warmer air causing more water to evaporate, and water vapor is a much more potent Greenhouse Gas than CO2. The warming effect of extra water vapor is non-linear. In fact, it is exponential, as slightly warmer air causes much more water to evaporate, and that extra water vapor traps more heat, causing even more evaporation, and so on … Creating a vicious circle of increased heating. Luckily though, the radiative Power of all these active molecules also increases. In fact, radiative Power varies in proportion to the 4th power of the Absolute temperature. (Where 4th power means the square of the square or T^4.) Unfortunately, most of the extra heating happens in the lower atmosphere, where the Greenhouse Effect is also strongest, thus trapping more and more heat close to the ground. Nature’s remedy for that problem is Rainstorms, Thunderstorms, and Hurricanes. They all carry the warm, humid air to higher altitudes, where expansion of the rising air causes much of the water vapor to condense, but now it is ABOVE most of the Greenhouse Effect and can therefore Radiate heat into outer space, where it belongs. But… (isn’t there always another ‘but’?
Wait, so the energy a photon gives to a molecule is not by having it exite electrons to other orbits? Or did he just skip that part to make it simpler to understand? And another thing when I watches Sabine Hossenfelder talk about this she did not mention this, she had more focus on the altidude of the molecules in the atmosphear emittet energy. Could someone help clear things up for me?
Great article. You explained short wave radiation dynamics, which is about half of planetary thermoregulation, which in the end does not stays trapped in the atmosphere resulting in climate cooling; but, What about long wave radiation? It gets trapped and results in climate warming. Climate cooling and warming maintains a balanced temperature in the planet that has allowed life to thrive. The problem that we have currently is the excess of carbon dioxide concentration that has not been seen in about 10 million years; this gas is effective in trapping long wave radiation. We would need a article about this to explain Climate Change. Thanks.
I studied some chemistry and wonder now if CO2 can be compared to a coloring substance in water where the concentration is according to the law of Lambert Beer. I guess not but it’s an example of the many very difficult question which can be asked, going deeper into what actually happens. I wonder if a new photon is released, it will have a lower energy. That seems normal. However would there also be a rare process leading to the creation of photons with slightly higher energy?? How ? No idea, perhaps a collision of a CO2 molecule with two oxygens at once or so leading to the absorption of extra energy.
I feel as if I am not the target audience for this kind of explanation article because the constant jumps and scene/lighting/tone changes made it a bit hard to keep up. I do know that you put so much effort into this and I’m glad to see all the commentators say this helped them, but maybe in another article the pacing can slow down a little? 🥲 great job though 👏
Something that should be also discussed and you already said it but not that clearly when the CO2 heats up the lower part of the atmosphere (CO2 is heavier than air) and by lower I mean about 10 km or so then the higher part of the atmosphere must get cooler. This is very important because the earth does not consume energy it always wants to stay in an equilibrium. The only thing that changes is the entropy! And this has already been proven but I can’t find the article if someone knows it please share.
Regarding your description of CO2 increasing in KE (around 10:15) and transferring that increase to O2 and N2 via conduction, thus increasing atmospheric temperature: This is a misconception and entirely incorrect. Warming occurs via a disruption to the earth’s energy equilibrium. Yes, the absorbed IR will increase GHG KE, which has two results, either a release of IR, which brings the GHG KE back to pre-absorption KE, or a transfer of KE to surrounding molecules. The latter can result in a momentary localized warming. Momentary due to eventually (and quickly) tranferring, via conduction, that energy back to a GHG, which will then emit it as IR. All localized increases in KE eventually end up at a GHG that will emit IR. Of course the GHG can start a new cycle of conduction, but it always comes back to a GHG, which at some point releases the energy as IR, which is eventually either lost to space or lost to the earth via IR absorption at the surface. There is no net change in KE in the atmosphere. The consequences of increasing CO2 and other GHGs in the atmosphere is to disrupt any established energy equilibrium between incoming solar energy and outgoing IR energy. The increase in atmospheric temperature that we call global warming comes from the earth retaining more solar energy to increase IR output in an “effort” to reestablish the equilibrium that has been lost through increasing atmospheric GHGs. As the earth retains more solar energy, much of that is transferred as heat to the atmosphere via conduction, and so the atmosphere increases in temperature.
Hello. Thank you for your explanation. I have a few questions. You mention that the water molecule can absorb a photon, while CO2 works more like a “conduit”, is there also a cycle in which the water molecule that absorbs a photon, causing it to vibrate faster, collides with other O2 or N2 molecules making them have more energy? Why, if there are more H2O molecules in the air, isn’t this the main greenhouse effect?
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. It is a phenomenon that affects every corner of the globe and has far-reaching consequences for the planet and its inhabitants. The evidence of climate change is overwhelming, and it is clear that human activities are the primary cause of this problem. The first paragraph of this essay will focus on the definition of climate change. Climate change refers to the long-term changes in the Earth’s climate, including changes in temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns. These changes are caused by a variety of factors, including human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation. The second paragraph will focus on the causes of climate change. As mentioned earlier, human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes are the primary cause of climate change. These activities release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which trap heat and cause the Earth’s temperature to rise. The third paragraph will discuss the impacts of climate change. Climate change has a wide range of impacts on the planet, including rising sea levels, more frequent and severe weather events, and changes in ecosystems and wildlife. These impacts have serious consequences for human health, food security, and economic stability. The fourth paragraph will focus on the role of governments in addressing climate change. Governments have a crucial role to play in addressing climate change, including setting goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting renewable energy, and implementing policies to reduce emissions from transportation and industry.
This is similar to Paul Beckwith’s You Tube website article where he reviews a paper “Heat stored in the Earth system (1960-2020): Where does the energy go?” on the EEI (Earth Energy Imbalance) that the earth has gained 0.48 W per square meter between 2006 to 2020. This extra energy is distributed thus: 89% to water, 5% to land, 4% to cryosphere and 2% to atmosphere. So the 21 trillion J per second increase over the US since 1750 is then distributed to the Ocean, land and cryoshere? I would assume so and heats the Oceans terribly.
The reason “THEY” don’t teach this molecular-scale interaction between matter and energy (aside from high school physics and/or earth science classes, where “THEY” certainly do teach this) is because it’s over the heads of most people and they really don’t need to know it. Trying to teach this to everyone is a great way to turn people off and get them to stop caring. Climate change is, all by itself, already an overwhelming concept – let’s not add physics to that burden, m’kay? ‘Greenhouse effect’ is a good analog to the system because most people can comprehend what happens in a greenhouse.
Great article.. question .. The Emissivity of Carbon Dioxide at the partial pressure and temperature in the atmosphere is about 0.0017 acc to Hottel et al. I’d like to understand how that emissivity is factored into the forcing equation 5.65ln(C/Co) . . Shouldn’t the correct equation be F=e 5.35 ln(C/Co) where e = 0.0017 ? It would appear then that Forcing = 0.0017 x 5.35ln(420/278) = 0.00375 watts/sq meter x 983E12 = 3.89 trillion joules /sec vs 22 trillion joules /sec that’s 5.65 times (565%) less than you calculated? Just asking..
Except that most of the energy reaching the Earth is in the visible (non-greenhouse) spectrum and is absorbed by the ocean. Gasses, meanwhile get most of their heat from convection, not radiation. Radiation by greenhouse gasses is how most energy LEAVES the Earth. The whole AGW theory is completely back-asswards. Non-greenhouse gasses trap heat absorbed through convection because they don’t radiate (much) in the IR spectrum.
CO2は大気で2番目に多い酸素分子の間に炭素が結合しているのだから安定して空中に浮き、炭素（カーボン）を個体にすると黒いから熱を吸収して炭素が激しく振動していると思っていたよ。 （空中に浮いた状態で効率良く振動するから熱を保持する時間が長くて温暖化効果が発生する） 酸素にも種類があるらしいが二酸化炭素にも種類があって、火力発電で発生する二酸化炭素は直物からすると不味いCO2だとも思っています。 だから地上に置いて強烈なブロワーで二酸化炭素を吸収するCCS（CCUS）は植物から食べやすい二酸化炭素を奪うかも知れないと思います。 今はパッシブ冷却で出来るだけ火力発電によるCO2を出さない事が重要です。
So-called “greenhouse effect” physics: It happens in Earth’s troposphere. The H2O gas & CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere manufacture ~1,500 times as much radiation as the Sun’s radiation that Earth absorbs (or something of that scale, hundreds of times as much). Taking 1 Unit as the Sun’s radiation that Earth absorbs (which is 99.93% of all energy going into the ecosphere, geothermal and all the human nuclear fission and fossil carbon burning are 0.035% each) and the 1,500 times as a workable example (not accurate) to describe the physics concept: Units 1 Solar SWR that Earth absorbs (1/3rd in the air, 2/3rds in the surface) 1,500 LWR manufactured by H2O gas & CO2 molecules in Earth’s atmosphere 1,497.64 LWR absorbed by H2O gas & CO2 molecules in Earth’s atmosphere 0.92 Leaks out the top of Earth’s atmosphere and goes to space 1.44 Leaks out the bottom of Earth’s atmosphere and goes into the surface (Note: There’s 0.08 LWR straight from the surface to space because H2O gas, CO2, CH4, O3, NOx, CFCs don’t absorb those wavelengths) So there’s the balance with 1 Solar SWR Unit being absorbed and 0.92+0.08=1 LWR Unit being sent to space. The “greenhouse effect” is the fact that only 0.92 leaks out the top of Earth’s atmosphere but a larger 1.44 leaks out the bottom of Earth’s atmosphere into the surface, because only the leakage to space gets rid of the constant stream of solar SWR energy, not the leakage into the surface. If they were both the same, both 1.18, then there’d still be 2.36 leaking out of Earth’s atmosphere but there’d be no “greenhouse effect” (as you see, out of the top of Earth’s atmosphere to space has gone up from 0.
Humanity uses 20 T Watts (20 T J/S) interesting they are about the same as the added energy to the earth by the sun due to the increase in CO2 emissions. Humanity uses an estimated 565.6 exajoules of energy in a year. In 2020, humanity used an estimated 443.1 exajoules of fossil fuel energy The estimated total amount of fossil fuels on Earth is 49,023 exajoules.
Right off the bat you say carbon dioxide is able to absorb the suns heat energy. While this is a very basic explanation, carbon dioxide actually absorbs infrared energy from the surface of the Earth. Then in the end, you states simply that carbon dioxide has gone up so the temperature has gone up. You do know that the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and absorption are not on a linear scale, right?
The article starts off with a false facts. The interior of a container of Co2 in sunlight will not register a higher temperature then an identical container with normal air. Co2 doesn’t react with sunlight. It absorbs a a very small and specific wavelengths of infrared. For the majority of the planet have reached the maximum extent of warming capable.
As a retired chemist who has done IR spectroscopy, I can tell you that water vapor is at least an order of magnitude more IR absorbent per mole than CO2. It is also present at a much higher concentration in the atmophere than CO2. It functions exactly like CO2 in your explanation. So what makes CO2 so special?
Thank you. Here’s a related question. I heard a Chemical Engineer say that hydrogen gas that is leaked creates hydrogen positive ions in the upper atmosphere which bind either free electrons or bind with greenhouse gas molecules’ negative dipoles and therefore inhibit the breakdown of greenhouse gases by a factor of 11 times . Can you do a article on this?
It has always bugged me that the idea of a few ppm of CO2 would change the world so much. For a while I just didn’t believe it and eventually decided with 95+% of scientists stating it was true, it probably is (particularly when I saw who was denying it). I wish I had this explanation 10-20 years ago. it would have been a very nice lightbulb moment. This is an excellent explanation of something very complicated but at least approachable to someone who understands some chemistry and physics.
Incomplete 1) If CO2 is a conduit 10:00, how is it that this property does not show up in reality and have a special utility. And what about CO2 welding: “The temperatures for an arc under pure CO2 shielding gas, …at approximately 8000—9000 K.” How can that be? Pure CO2 at that temperature, a conduit? It would blow the place apart with the energy you claimed. 2)In the operation of a N2-CO2 Laser, the N2 is first excited to excite the CO2 modes? Isn’t that a contradiction to your claims? Wtf! 3) The modes and temperature of the molecule of H2O are all detected, also! by modern Raman Laser-based spectrometer, as are the single modes of N2 and O2, as well as 1338cm-1 of CO2, 2 from CH4 and 2 from N2O. Raman spectrometers are complementary instruments to the IR spectrometer. They, the gases, all absorb, there are just different instruments to measure them.
Do you really understand the whole picture? Why have you neglected convection? Why have you not explained opacity and how this limits how much infrared radiation carbon dioxide can absorb? Why have you not described the reaction kinetics? etc. etc. The whole picture is very, very complex and certainly can’t be explained in a few minutes.
CO2 doesn’t “trap heat”. Heat (which only exist if there is a temperature difference) is dissipated from the atmosphere by thermal radiation. N2 and O2 do not emit strongly and must cool by the transfer of energy by collision. “Translational energy (heat) is collisionally converted into vibrational energy of the bending mode of CO2. A fraction of the resulting vibrational energy is radiated away to space cooling the atmosphere.” This is the real basic science.
so… when we where at 280ppm we had 1 heater running and it was nice and cosy…. now we have 2 heaters running and its getting hot in here. got it. so… with greenhouse gasses having halflives in the decades to hundreds of years and us doing our best to add a 3rd heater by 2040…. what are our chances? i had planned to life into the 2080s, seems like civilisation as we know it is not gonna make it that far.