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Revision as of 16:30, 10 April 2021
, 16:30, 10 April 2021→Article: Sunlight And Air By Otto Carque
In closed rooms, however, where numbers of persons are present and at the same time gas and coal are burned, the percentage of carbon dioxide rapidly increases. At the same time, the air is filled with other more poisonous gases, such as ammonia and al- buminoid ammonia, while the amount of oxygen is gradually lowered. All these facts should be seriously considered in the proper ventilation of living rooms, schoolrooms, etc. The following table gives the average amount of carbon dioxide in 10,000 parts found in the air of different localities:
In closed rooms, however, where numbers of persons are present and at the same time gas and coal are burned, the percentage of carbon dioxide rapidly increases. At the same time, the air is filled with other more poisonous gases, such as ammonia and al- buminoid ammonia, while the amount of oxygen is gradually lowered. All these facts should be seriously considered in the proper ventilation of living rooms, schoolrooms, etc. The following table gives the average amount of carbon dioxide in 10,000 parts found in the air of different localities:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|Bedroom during night, Window partly open 0.8
|Ocean and forests
|0.3
|-
|Cities, open streets
|0.4 to 0.5
|-
|Bedroom during night, Window partly open
|0.8
|-
|-
|Bedroom during night, Window closed 1.2
|Bedroom during night, Window closed
|1.2
|-
|-
|School-rooms 1.5 to 3.0
|School-rooms
|1.5 to 3.0
|-
|-
|Hospitals 2.8
|Hospitals
|2.8
|-
|-
|School-room, 70 occupants at close of school hrs. 7.2
|School-room, 70 occupants at close of school hrs.
|7.2
|-
|-
|Churches, during services 3.5 to 7.0
|Churches, during services
|3.5 to 7.0
|-
|-
|Churches, if heated by furnaces 20.0 to 30.0
|Churches, if heated by furnaces
|20.0 to 30.0
|-
|-
|Theatres, crowded meeting rooms 25.0
|Theatres, crowded meeting rooms
|25.0
|-
|-
|Workshops, ill-ventilated 30.0
|Workshops, ill-ventilated
|30.0
|}
|}
These figures show how little attention is paid to proper ventilation, and they explain the constant increase of pneumonia and similar diseases. The importance of pure air be- comes still more obvious if we consider the wonderful anatomical structure of the res- piratory organs. The lungs, into which the air is drawn, consist of two rounded, oblong, somewhat flattened masses of cellular substance. They are situated in the cavity of the chest, which communicates with the atmosphere through the windpipe (trachea). The trachea, as it descends from the throat, branches off into large tubes, and these branch again and again into smaller and still smaller ones and finally into hairlike vessels.
These figures show how little attention is paid to proper ventilation, and they explain the constant increase of pneumonia and similar diseases. The importance of pure air be- comes still more obvious if we consider the wonderful anatomical structure of the res- piratory organs. The lungs, into which the air is drawn, consist of two rounded, oblong, somewhat flattened masses of cellular substance. They are situated in the cavity of the chest, which communicates with the atmosphere through the windpipe (trachea). The trachea, as it descends from the throat, branches off into large tubes, and these branch again and again into smaller and still smaller ones and finally into hairlike vessels.
The changes that have taken place in the composition of the exhaled air are indicated by the following table:
The changes that have taken place in the composition of the exhaled air are indicated by the following table:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|Constituent Inhaled Air Exhaled Air
|'''Constituent'''
|'''Inhaled Air'''
|'''Exhaled Air'''
|-
|-
|Volumes percent
|Volumes
|'''Percent'''
|'''Percent'''
|-
|-
|Nitrogen 78.35 78.85
|Nitrogen
|78.35
|78.85
|-
|-
|Oxygen 20.77 16.00
|Oxygen
|20.77
|16.00
|-
|-
|Carbon dioxide 00.04 04.35
|Carbon dioxide
|0.44
|04.35
|}
|}
Exhaled air is also saturated with water vapor and contains traces of ammonia and organic matter varying with the diet, climate and occupation of the individual. Under normal conditions, if the blood is rich in the essential organic salts, the lungs absorb through the medium of the red blood corpuscles twenty-four and one-half ounces of oxygen during twenty-four hours, while they give off twenty-eight ounces of carbon dioxide retained in the lungs. Children need relatively more oxygen than adults, as the tissue changes are more active during the growth of the organism.
The adult man of average weight at each inhalation draws in about one pint of air, and during twenty-four hours he averages fifteen respirations a minute. Thus he takes in two gallons of air a minute or 120 gallons an hour, amounting to about 2,880 gallons or 384 cubic feet a day. This volume of air would fill a room measuring a little over seven square feet. The weight of this volume is about thirty pounds and contains about seven pounds of oxygen, as the latter forms 23.2 percent of weight of the atmosphere. Of the total amount of inhaled air, the human body takes up oxygen at the rate of 4.78% by volume or 5.25% by weight, while exhaled air contains 4.34% of carbon dioxide by volume or 6.5%, by weight.
Of the total amount of oxygen inhaled, the body generally absorbs from eight to ten ounces (one-third) during the activities of daytime, while during sleep in the open air or in well-ventilated rooms, the quantity may be doubled to sixteen ounces. It may be noted here, incidentally, that the absorption of oxygen depends largely upon the number of red blood corpuscles in a given quantity of blood. During severe muscular exertion, respiration is also increased in frequency and in depth, and the volume of air exchanged may be from five to seven times greater than during a period of rest.
Experiments have been made by German scientists showing the effect on oxygen consumption of walking on a level and climbing. The following figures give the quantities of oxygen consumed during one minute, the subject being a man of 125 pounds weight:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|Form of Exercise Oxygen Consumption
|'''Form of Exercise'''
|'''Oxygen Consumption'''
|-
|-
|Standing at rest 16 cubic inches
|Standing at rest
|16 cubic inches
|-
|-
|Walking on a level 48 cubic inches
|Walking on a level
|48 cubic inches
|-
|-
|Climbing 78 cubic inches
|Climbing
|78 cubic inches
|}
|}
It appears that walking increases the consumption of oxygen threefold and climbing nearly fivefold over that consumed at rest. These facts illustrate the influence of muscular activity upon the bodily metabolism and the incidental purification of the system from waste matter. Regular exercise in the open air during all seasons of the year is one of the most important factors for the preservation of health and the prolongation of life.