Are they particles in the air that start all bunched up and then slowly spread out so thin to the point where it’s undetectable by the average human nose?
In: Biology
yes to all of the above.
But there is an additional effect if we are trapped in a room with a scent, if our nose keeps getting tthe same sents, it just assumes thats normal and stops reporting them. This is why your home probiably doesnt have a smell, but other peoples do.
Anytime you smell something, it’s basically several little particles of varying compounds that enter your nose and come into contact with your olfactory mucosa (mucus) and is then detected by olfactory neurons. I believe each neuron is limited in what scents it’s able to detect so imagine one is good at detecting sulfur, another acetic acid.
So when you smell a fart, someone’s butt particle got right up in there for you to smell it.
None of your senses detect *things*. Instead, they all detect *changes* in things. That’s why a pool feels cold when you get in (because that’s a change), but then it doesn’t feel cold anymore after a while (because nothing has changed).
Scents come from molecules in the air hitting your nose. If the same molecules keep hitting your nose for a long stretch of time then you stop smelling them. This is why you don’t smell what your own house smells like.
It’s also possible that the source of the volatile molecules has simply stopped producing them.
If you stare at a bright light for a while (don’t do this) then look away, you will see a blob in your vision.
This is because some of the nerves in your eyes are over stimulated and have stopped firing.
Scent are little nerves that detect smells rather than light. But like your eyes, the scent nerves can get over stimulated and stop reporting the smell after a while.
The reason your nerves get overstimulated is both biomechanical (your nerves have to reset and it takes time) and evolutionary (knowing about new sights and smells is more useful than knowing about old ones generally as new sights and smells can be new dangers.)
They’re specific chemicals that can exist as gases or aerosols. Something emits these particles and they gradually get diffused (mixed) into the air.
Your nose can detect these chemicals and presents them to your brain as “smell.” In fact, the “flavor” of food is also just the smell, except it works backward. When food or drink is in your mouth, the flavor compounds get aerosolized (it’s why chewing makes things taste stronger) and when you exhale, they pass through your nose for detection.
The reason why smells go away after some time is usually because they diffuse to a point where they’re not detectable, or because your brain puts them in the background as you’re not actively needing the input.
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