If odors are tiny particles of what you’re smelling, can they infect?
In: Chemistry
You’re thinking about it backwards. Odors are not tiny particles, tiny particles give off odor.
So tiny particles can sometimes infect you, and sometimes those particles give off an odor, the odor itself is not the thing causing an infection.
An odor is the thing your nose detects, it’s like color. Asking if an odor can infect you is like asking if the color purple can infect you. No it can’t, but the thing it is attached to could.
The particles that you smell are for the most part molecules. Molecules are significantly smaller than anything that you can be infected with. So smells don’t tend to be able to infect you, although they can indicate the presence of things that can infect you.
No, but it was a popular idea in Victorian times. Look up “miasma theory” to read about the period of time when bad odors were theorized to be the cause of infectious illness. “The Ghost Map” is a good book about it.
Edit: words, typing while standing in line!
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