--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You will be astonished when I tell you…" description: "\"You will be astonished when I tell you what this curious play of carbon amounts to. A candle will burn some four, five, six, or seven hours. What, then..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-faraday-8792_acid_you-will-be-astonished-when-i-tell-you-w_2536924.jpg" --- # You will be astonished when I tell you what this curious… ![“You will be astonished when I tell you what this curious play of carbon amounts to. A candle will burn some four, five, six, or seven hours. What, then, must be the daily amount of carbon going up into the air in the way of carbonic acid! ... Then what becomes of it? Wonderful is it to find that…” quote by Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-faraday-8792_acid_you-will-be-astonished-when-i-tell-you-w_2536924.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-faraday-8792_acid_you-will-be-astonished-when-i-tell-you-w_2536924.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/063/michael-faraday-8792_acid_you-will-be-astonished-when-i-tell-you-w_2536924.jpg) > “You will be astonished when I tell you what this curious play of carbon amounts to. A candle will burn some four, five, six, or seven hours. What, then, must be the daily amount of carbon going up into the air in the way of carbonic acid! ... Then what becomes of it? Wonderful is it to find that the change produced by respiration ... is the very life and support of plants and vegetables that grow upon the surface of the earth.” [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Respiration releases carbon, which cycles back to nourish plants, linking all life in a continuous loop. **In simple terms:** Carbon cycles from breath to plant growth. Key Takeaway Recognize our role in ecological cycles. Themes science interdependence environment respiration Mood educational inquisitive Type scientific inspirational When to use this quote - gardening - climate education - health awareness Key Concepts ecology chemistry systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does your daily activity affect the carbon cycle? - What can you do to support ecological balance? A Different Perspective Complex cycles can be disrupted by pollution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acid/) [Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Atmosphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) [Candle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candle/) [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Carbon Amounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-amounts-1396708/) [Carbon Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-going-1202740/) [Curious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious/) [Daily Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-carbon-1396709/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Respiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respiration/) [Respiration Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respiration-life-1396710/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Vegetables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vegetables/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [A man in twenty-four hours converts as much as seven ounces of carbon into carbonic acid; a milch cow will convert seventy ounces, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/a-man-in-twenty-four-hours-converts-as-much-as-seven-ounces-of-carbon/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [If Africa is left behind, she is going to continue pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, especially carbon. She's going to continue logging the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/if-africa-is-left-behind-she-is-going-to-continue-pumping-greenhouse/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [“The sense of respiration is an example of our natural sense relationship with the atmospheric matrix. Remember, respiration means to re-spire, to re-spirit ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-cohen-2/the-sense-of-respiration-is-an-example-of-our-natural-sense/) [Michael J. Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-cohen-2/) > [He said it was artificial respiration but now I find I'm to have his child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/he-said-it-was-artificial-respiration-but-now-i-find-i-m-to-have-his/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Laughter may or may not activate the endorphins or enhance respiration, as some medical researchers contend. What seems clear, however, is that laughter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/laughter-may-or-may-not-activate-the-endorphins-or-enhance/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [All nature ... is a respiration Of the Spirit of God, who, in breathing hereafter Will inhale it into his bosom again, So that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/all-nature-is-a-respiration-of-the-spirit-of-god-who-in-breathing/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [ To think, analyze and invent, he \[Pierre Menard\] also wrote me, “are not anomalous acts, but the normal respiration of the intelligence. To glorify… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/to-think-analyze-and-invent-he-pierre-menard-also-wrote-me-are-not/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Wherever moral ambition exists, there right exists. And moral ambition itself must be presumed present in subconsciousness, even when the conscious self seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ernest-hocking/wherever-moral-ambition-exists-there-right-exists-and-moral-ambition/) [William Ernest Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ernest-hocking/) > [Speaking biologically, fruit in a slightly shriveled state is holding its respiration and energy consumption down to the lowest possible level. It is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masanobu-fukuoka/speaking-biologically-fruit-in-a-slightly-shriveled-state-is-holding/) [Masanobu Fukuoka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masanobu-fukuoka/) > [People were so naive about plants, Ellie thought. They just chose plants for appearance, as they would choose a picture for the wall. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/people-were-so-naive-about-plants-ellie-thought-they-just-chose/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I’m telling you, you’d like him. He goes to a public school and just started at Spencer’s. The other day, he was going off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/i-m-telling-you-you-d-like-him-he-goes-to-a-public-school-and-just/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Like any good drug, anger can mask all reality. But anger is not an easy emotion to call up on demand, which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-alan-lewis/like-any-good-drug-anger-can-mask-all-reality-but-anger-is-not-an/) [Brad Alan Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-alan-lewis/) > [Since it is the very substance of the animal, it is the blood which transports the fuel.If the animal did not habitually replace, through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-lavoisier/since-it-is-the-very-substance-of-the-animal-it-is-the-blood-which/) [Antoine Lavoisier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-lavoisier/) > [And we'd sit in the dry leaves that whispered a little with the slow respiration of our waiting and with the slow breathing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/and-we-d-sit-in-the-dry-leaves-that-whispered-a-little-with-the-slow/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Energy and life go hand in hand. If you stop breathing, you will not be able to generate the energy you need for staying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lane/energy-and-life-go-hand-in-hand-if-you-stop-breathing-you-will-not-be/) [Nick Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lane/) ## More by Michael Faraday > [All your names I and my friend approve of or nearly all as to sense & expression, but I am frightened by their length…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/all-your-names-i-and-my-friend-approve-of-or-nearly-all-as-to-sense/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [It may be a weed instead of a fish that, after all my labour, I at last pull up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/it-may-be-a-weed-instead-of-a-fish-that-after-all-my-labour-i-at-last/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [I ... express a wish that you may, in your generation, be fit to compare to a candle; that you may, like it, shine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/i-express-a-wish-that-you-may-in-your-generation-be-fit-to-compare-to/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [All are sure in their days except the most wise ... He is the wisest philosopher who holds his theory with some doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/all-are-sure-in-their-days-except-the-most-wise-he-is-the-wisest/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [Whereas, according to the declaration of that true man of the world Talleyrand, the use of language is to conceal the thoughts; this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/whereas-according-to-the-declaration-of-that-true-man-of-the-world/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [I shall be with Christ, and that is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/i-shall-be-with-christ-and-that-is-enough/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [Since peace is alone the gift of God, and as it is He who gives it, why should we be afraid? His unspeakable gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/since-peace-is-alone-the-gift-of-god-and-as-it-is-he-who-gives-it-why/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [If the term education may be understood in so large a sense as to include all that belongs to the improvement of the mind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/if-the-term-education-may-be-understood-in-so-large-a-sense-as-to/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [I cannot conceive curved lines of force without the conditions of a physical existence in that intermediate space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/i-cannot-conceive-curved-lines-of-force-without-the-conditions-of-a/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [“To day we made the grand experiment of burning the diamond and certainly the phenomena presented were extremely beautiful and interesting... The Duke's burning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/to-day-we-made-the-grand-experiment-of-burning-the-diamond-and/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [Why will people go astray when they have this blessed Book to guide them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/why-will-people-go-astray-when-they-have-this-blessed-book-to-guide/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [Magnetic lines of force convey a far better and purer idea than the phrase magnetic current or magnetic flood: it avoids the assumption of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/magnetic-lines-of-force-convey-a-far-better-and-purer-idea-than-the/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [ou can hardly imagine how I am struggling to exert my poetical ideas just now for the discovery of analogies and remote figures respecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/ou-can-hardly-imagine-how-i-am-struggling-to-exert-my-poetical-ideas/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [Tyndall, ... I must remain plain Michael Faraday to the last; and let me now tell you, that if accepted the honour which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/tyndall-i-must-remain-plain-michael-faraday-to-the-last-and-let-me/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) > [I have taken your advice, and the names used are anode cathode anions cations and ions; the last I shall have but little occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faraday/i-have-taken-your-advice-and-the-names-used-are-anode-cathode-anions/) [Michael Faraday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) [Explore all 78 Michael Faraday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faraday/) ## More Acid quotes > [Grew up in a small town where there was only one crazy guy. He didn't even go insane doing anything good, like going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/grew-up-in-a-small-town-where-there-was-only-one-crazy-guy-he-didn-t/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > [Under Thatcher, who ruled us with an iron rod, great art was made. Amazing designers and musicians. Acid house was born. Very colourful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/under-thatcher-who-ruled-us-with-an-iron-rod-great-art-was-made/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [Balance is key in cooking - you want a little acid, a little sweet, a little savory - the flavors should be harmonious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simmons/balance-is-key-in-cooking-you-want-a-little-acid-a-little-sweet-a/) [Gail Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simmons/) > [Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. 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