Today’s [Triviatime](https://triviatime.app/) had a Q which asked what % of the earth’s air is made of Oxygen. The answer was 21% but this only left me with more questions!
How??? What else is there and what are the implications of those elements/things being literally everywhere in the air. Fellow laymen eggheads, please add to this list of thoughts you have about this which need to be addressed:
– How does our breathing filter the other stuff out?
– What actually is air if it’s made up of so many different things, I thought air basically = oxygen?
– How steady is this 21% level? Can this change overtime, is that dangerous, and if so how?
– Etc
In: 0
The air is mostly nitrogen gas, then oxygen, then small amounts of other gases.
It’s not dangerous for us. We evolved in this environment. We simply breathe the nitrogen gas out. Nitrogen is a very stable molecule meaning it doesn’t really react with stuff easily. So it just goes in and then out.
If the air was pure oxygen that wouldn’t necessarily be good. Things would be even more flammable since oxygen is an ingredient in combustion. Like rather than a small burn, something might explode. Also funny enough, you can be poisoned by too much oxygen. Your lungs don’t really like the excess oxygen when it’s a lot.
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