Svante Arrhenius

Lore & Background

Svante Arrhenius was a Swedish scientist, originally trained as a physicist but frequently described as a chemist, who became one of the founders of physical chemistry. He was born near Uppsala and as a young child taught himself to read without parental encouragement, later becoming an arithmetical prodigy by watching his father add numbers. At the cathedral school, he excelled in physics and mathematics, graduating as the youngest and most able student. Dissatisfied with his instructors at Uppsala University, he moved to Stockholm to study under physicist Erik Edlund. His doctoral dissertation on electrolytic conductivity, submitted in 1884, proposed that solid crystalline salts dissociate into charged particles—ions—when dissolved, even without an electric current. This idea was poorly received by his professors, earning only a low grade, but impressed leading European scientists such as Wilhelm Ostwald and Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff. In an extension of this work, Arrhenius defined acids as substances that produce hydrogen ions in solution and bases as substances that produce hydroxide ions. In 1889, while working with Ostwald, he developed the Arrhenius equation, which relates reaction rates to activation energy. He later became a professor of physics at Stockholm University College and its rector. Arrhenius was the first to apply physical chemistry to estimate how increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide raise Earth's surface temperature, a foundational contribution to modern climate science. He was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1901, became director of the Nobel Institute in 1905, and used his positions on Nobel committees to influence prize awards. His name is commemorated by the Arrhenius equation, Arrhenius acids and bases, lunar and Martian craters, a mountain, and laboratories at Stockholm University.

Reader's Guide

Arrhenius applied the principles of physical chemistry to estimate the extent to which rising atmospheric carbon dioxide increases Earth's surface temperature, a foundational contribution to modern climate science. This work was later corroborated by Charles David Keeling, who reliably measured increasing carbon dioxide levels in the 1960s, confirming that the increase was sufficient to cause significant global warming under the greenhouse hypothesis. Arrhenius is also recognized as one of the founders of physical chemistry, a discipline that bridges physics and chemistry. His 1903 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the first awarded to a Swedish laureate, honored his broader impact on the field, particularly his ionic theory of dissociation. In that theory, he proposed that solid crystalline salts dissociate into charged particles (ions) when dissolved, even without an electric current, and that chemical reactions in solution are reactions between these ions. He also defined acids and bases as substances that produce hydrogen or hydroxide ions in solution. The Arrhenius equation, which quantifies the relationship between activation energy and reaction rate, is another lasting legacy. His contributions are commemorated by the Arrhenius acid, Arrhenius base, the lunar and Martian craters named Arrhenius, the mountain Arrheniusfjellet, and the Arrhenius Labs at Stockholm University.

Did You Know?

• Arrhenius used physical chemistry to estimate the effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide on Earth's increasing surface temperature.
• He was one of the founders of physical chemistry.
• He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1903.
• His work on carbon dioxide and temperature is a precursor to modern climate science.