Skip to main content

When we inhale air, other gases are also inhaled in addition to oxygen. What happens to those gases?

It's worth taking a quick look at the average composition of the atmosphere to answer this question.


Nitrogen: 78%


Oxygen: 21%


Argon: 0.9%


Other gases: 0.1%



We should consider the three primary gases first. Nitrogen and oxygen are both dimolecular, meaning, each one is a pair of atoms bound together. These are pretty small in comparison to the membranes of your cells, let alone your lungs, so it should be fairly easy for them...

It's worth taking a quick look at the average composition of the atmosphere to answer this question.


Nitrogen: 78%


Oxygen: 21%


Argon: 0.9%


Other gases: 0.1%



We should consider the three primary gases first. Nitrogen and oxygen are both dimolecular, meaning, each one is a pair of atoms bound together. These are pretty small in comparison to the membranes of your cells, let alone your lungs, so it should be fairly easy for them to get into your blood. Argon is an inert gas, so a small amount of it should be irrelevant. A good example of what happens with an inert gas in your body is when people inhale helium; no observable effect besides making your voice squeaky, and maybe lightheadedness, but in sufficient amounts helium can actually be used as a form of euthanasia, so it's entirely viable to say that inert gases don't have to react with anything in order to harm you. However, you're not going to breathe in a deadly amount of argon anywhere in the atmosphere.


This means our other primary consideration should be the nitrogen, which is three or four times more of every breath than the oxygen we actually want. They're similar enough in size and properties that it's not like our lungs can "choose" which one to allow into the blood, and in fact nitrogen does diffuse into our blood right alongside the oxygen. However, we don't have any use for it, and so our blood lacks the ability to bind with the nitrogen and allow it to accumulate in any significant amount. It's there, it just doesn't do anything.


Likewise, the other lesser concentrations of gases tend to either be too small to have a significant effect, like the argon, or not really viable reactants with our metabolism, and therefore just sit around dissolved in our blood in relatively small concentrations, ignored by the cells. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can you analyze the poem "Absolution" by Siegfried Sassoon?

Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and... Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and the v...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more