Recent comments in /f/askscience

Hagenaar t1_j9vpiwo wrote

Reply to Will a bag of activated charcoal actually passively purify the air in a room? by gtmattz

The truth is somewhere in the middle. Some of the VOCs from the copier will get trapped in the bag of charcoal. Just by virtue of it being there.

But this is absolutely not how effective filtration works. Filters are classified in terms of the media used, and the percent of a given particle size they're expected to block from the air that passes through the filter. Since we have no idea how much air is passing through the bags of charcoal (some percentage only slightly above zero) we can say that the air is effectively unfiltered.

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Draelon t1_j9vpfc5 wrote

Reply to Will a bag of activated charcoal actually passively purify the air in a room? by gtmattz

Read the manufacturers instructions for the printer and resin used. If it says exhaust ventilation or other controls are required, ensure your employer is aware that is an OSHA reportable hazard. No further threatening required. If they fix it, great. If they get air sampling done (usually costs more than the actual basic ventilation for something like that) to show you’re under the exposure limit, great piece of mind. If they do nothing… well…. You already explained an employee could make a complaint so you decide.

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Uncynical_Diogenes t1_j9vmye2 wrote

Reply to comment by UnkindPotato in After a surgery, what happens to the air that was inside the incision? by cimmic

The difference in air pressure between a pressurized cabin and sea level is not really enough to make that much of a difference.

Now, if you teleported right into outer space, you could expect that gas to find the path of least resistance out of you, probably the incision, but you’re not going to “blow up”.

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Uncynical_Diogenes t1_j9vmd2x wrote

Reply to comment by TikkiTakiTomtom in Do all thinking creatures on Earth use neurons? Does an example of non-neuron based biological "intelligence" exist? by Wun_Weg_Wun_Dar__Wun

Slime molds can, without your definition of “think”, design more parsimonious subway networks than I can, and I have a whole advanced primate brain I think with all the time.

Where do you draw the line between thought and intelligence? Abstract thought? Because no amount of abstract thought will make me better at designing the Tokyo subway system.

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Adventurous_Home_153 t1_j9vlfhj wrote

Reply to comment by fastspinecho in What are the best alternatives to a double-blind RCT if blinding is impossible: example you cannot have a double-blind RCT to test the effectiveness of masks against covid. What is the best way to test if masks, as worn in real life, are effective? by DenebianSlimeMolds

Could you elaborate on that? Why isn't sham surgery a valid control group for a new surgical treatment?

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