Recent comments in /f/askscience

die_kuestenwache t1_j1ca1bc wrote

Reply to Can our bodies tolerate environments without oxygen? by purvel

From a breathing point of view, yes, we would be fine. The whole "we need to also breathe through our skin or else we die" thing is bunk. However a lot of atmospheres might be otherwise toxic and cause problems to our skin or mucus membranes without a hazmat-suit. It wouldn't have to be pressurized though.

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Alfred_The_Sartan t1_j1c9sxw wrote

Reply to Why do teeth have nerves? by ileiskit

Well, they’re bones right? Special bones with a purpose. If I were a betting man I’d say that the lack of nerves never proved beneficial so they were just left behind. Natural selection leads to some great things and some damned odd ones too

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destinationlalaland t1_j1c9cqe wrote

Reply to Can our bodies tolerate environments without oxygen? by purvel

People enter various types of IDLH (immediate danger to life and health) environments every day. They range from toxic gasses to low oxygen and everywhere in between. If none of the hazards are absorbed through the skin, game on. Limit is your air supply and shift change. Only thing stopping a person from porky-pigging it most of the time is company specific policy and your local indecent exposure ordinances.

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vltamlnr t1_j1c8cgz wrote

Reply to Why do teeth have nerves? by ileiskit

I’ve heard that when people switch from a full set of teeth to dentures, it’s incredibly difficult to tell where food is in the mouth. Chewing is a challenge with that as well, as your nerves in your teeth prevent you from biting your tongue (most of the time anyways).

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xratedcheese t1_j1c811x wrote

Reply to Why do teeth have nerves? by ileiskit

You need teeth. Nerves preserve teeth.

  • If teeth had no nerves, you'd chomp on unchompable things -- "me eat rock" -- until your teeth wore down, broke, and fell out. Then you'd die and not have children whose teeth have no nerves.
  • If your teeth have nerves, you're a bit more careful about your teeth -- "ow, me NO eat rock" -- and you live a healthy life and get laid and have children whose teeth have nerves.
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th3krackan t1_j1c7lo9 wrote

Reply to Can our bodies tolerate environments without oxygen? by purvel

Yes, when doing gas work we have to enter low oxygen areas with a breathing apparatus of course. The low oxygen doesn't affect your body. However without the breathing apparatus and no suitable oxygen to breath then your body will not be triggered to expel carbon dioxide and you will just not be able to breath at all which will lead to death. But to answer your question yes our bodies can tolerate 0 oxygen areas.

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TerpenesByMS t1_j1c6xhn wrote

Reply to Why do we use phase change refrigerants? by samskiter

4 Big Reasons: 1. Mainly compactness, as liquids ate much more dense than gases. 2. Also importantly, the enthalpy of evaporation. This adds a significant boost to the heat energy that can be moved by a given volume of refrigerant. 3. Further, liquids have higher thermal conductivity than gases under most conditions, especially low temperature ones. 4. Liquid evap temperature is fixed for a given system, which is convenient for most refrigeration apps like freezing water, or chilling without freezing. A gas-only system, on the other hand, would need precise flow control and sensor feedback to maintain temperature regardless of load.

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whorgans t1_j1c6ojh wrote

Reply to comment by CleverName9999999999 in Why do teeth have nerves? by ileiskit

It’s also a good indicator of something is wrong. And that’s important to know. I had decayed wisdom teeth that got infected. The only reason I knew was due to the extreme pain I had from it. And infected teeth are dangerous. It’s important to know when you have that and the pain from it is a pretty good indicator of it. It’s excruciating.

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