Let's not ignore temperature: my farts are a good 20 degrees F above ambient (at present), and tend to rise before mixing into the unfortunate nearby environs. And, just in case you were wondering what the composition of a fart was:
The major components of the flatus, which are odorless, by percentage are: [4] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence#cite_note-3> - Nitrogen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen>: 20–90% - Hydrogen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen>: 0–50% - Carbon dioxide <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide>: 10–30% - Oxygen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen>: 0–10% - Methane <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane>: 0–10% *4. ^ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence#cite_ref-3>* "Human Digestive System"<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-45361/human-digestive-system#294193.hook> . *Encyclopædia Britannica*. Retrieved 2007-08-22. --Doug On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 12:33 PM, Roger Critchlow <[email protected]> wrote: > Nick -- > > N2 weighs 28 gm/mole, O2 weighs 32 gm/mole, Ar weighs 40 gm/mole, CO2 > weighs 44 gm/mole, and H2O weighs 18 gm/mole. > > Why would anyone expect the lighter components of a mixture to fall down > more than the heavier ones? If anything, you'd expect the heavier ones to > concentrate toward the bottom. > > And why would anyone expect a mixture to spontaneously separate into pure > components? That happens in real life like where? > > As it happens, CO2 is the heaviest normal component and it does pool in > confined spaces often enough that CO2 alarms are available in hardware > stores. Propane, C3H8, weighs 44 gm/mole and is notorious for pooling in > confined spaces and then exploding, often in the bilge of a boat and > spectacularly. > > -- rec -- > > On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 10:44 AM, Nicholas Thompson < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> So, somebody asked me, in my role as a weather nerd, how come the >> nitrogen in the atmosphere doesn’t all fall to the bottom on still nights >> and suffocate us all. I asked the question of >> stupid-answers-to-stupid-questions-asked-by-stupid-people.com and THEY >> said, well, there’s just too much going on. N molecules and the O >> molecules are just too busy, what with convection and windcurrents, and >> all, to separate, even on still nights. Now, that business doesn’t prevent >> cold molecules of Nitrogen and Oxygen to separate from warm ones, or wet >> ones (not sure what that means) to separate from dry ones. I was hoping >> that somebody on FRIAM could give some sort of a clue what kind of a >> mixture AIR is? It is suddenly seeming kinda special. **** >> >> ** ** >> >> ** ** >> >> ** ** >> >> Nicholas S. Thompson**** >> >> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology**** >> >> Clark University**** >> >> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/**** >> >> http://www.cusf.org**** >> >> ** ** >> >> ** ** >> >
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