Scientists have detected in the atmosphere a gas that traps heat more effectively than any other previously found there. Laboratory measurements show that, pound-for-pound, it absorbs about 18,000 times as much infrared radiation as carbon dioxide does.
The researchers find the gas, trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride (SF5CF3), only at trace levels—about 0.12
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.