Is it possible to create a plastic or paper that, if it burns, DOESN’T create toxic choking carcinogenic fumes? Or is there something inherent in oxidization of materials (esp organic ones) that creates byproducts incompatible with life?
I was reading about how toxic the smoke from a house fire is, and wondered if humans could engineer curtains or carpet that perhaps *can* burn — but with smoke that is relatively safe to breath.
i mean obviously it would be better if stuff wasn’t flammable in the first place, but, one thing at a time 🙂
In: Chemistry
Even the “safest” most “organic” material will give off harmful stuff while being burned…..mainly because smoke allows particles to get into the lungs. The world is dirty; who knows what might have been sprayed on that log of wood which is now being inhaled through smoke
Stuff getting into the lungs is always a problem; we don’t have defenses for most non-living (bacterial or viral) stuff other than trying to cough it out
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