lml@lancaironline.net Mailing List Archive

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> << Lancair Builders' Mail List >> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Posted for "Tony Vaz" <avvaz@msn.com>: "I stand corrected and I'm butting out while the butting out is good" Carbon Monoxide, chemical compound of carbon and oxygen with the formula CO. It is a colorless, odorless gas, about 3 percent lighter than air, and is poisonous to all warm-blooded animals and to many other forms of life. When inhaled it combines with hemoglobin in the blood, preventing absorption of oxygen and resulting in asphyxiation. Carbon monoxide is formed whenever carbon or substances containing carbon are burned with an insufficient air supply. Even when the amount of air is theoretically sufficient, the reaction is not always complete, so that the combustion gases contain some free oxygen and some carbon monoxide. An incomplete reaction is especially probable when it takes place quickly, as in an automobile engine; for this reason, automobile-exhaust gases contain harmful quantities of carbon monoxide, sometimes several percent, although antipollution devices are intended to keep the level below 1 percent. As little as 1/1000 of 1 percent of carbon monoxide in air may produce symptoms of poisoning, and as little as 1/5 of 1 percent may prove fatal in less than 30 min. Carbon monoxide is a major ingredient of the air pollution in urban areas. Because it is odorless, carbon monoxide is an insidious poison. It produces only mild symptoms of headache, nausea, or fatigue, followed by unconsciousness. An automobile engine running in a closed garage can make the air noxious within a few minutes; a leaking furnace flue may fill a house with unsuspected poison. Fuel gas, which may contain as much as 50 percent carbon monoxide, often has small quantities of unpleasant-smelling sulfur compounds purposely added to make leaks noticeable. LML website: http://members.olsusa.com/mkaye/maillist.html LML Builders' Bookstore: http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair Please remember that purchases from the Builders' Bookstore assist with the management of the LML. Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.