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Kind words for ozone and nitrogen dioxide
Hi all,
I gotta toss my $0.02 into the ozone-nitrogen dioxide twitter because I think
we are
engaged in some junk science. Besides, I like the smell of ozone.
Missing from all the discussion is any serious mention of concentrations
present in
typical TC situations. Yes, ozone can be very irritating in "high
concentrations." But it is
no more poisonous than NaCl and it is not a recognized carcinogen. Sorry
John. The only reference to ozone concentrations was a quote from a bastion
of the safety
Gestapo, the Center for Disease Control: "...harmful in concentrations
above 0.10 ppm." The Merck Index says "...ozone is irritating in
concentrations
above 2 ppm." The AMA Family Medical Guide describes ozone as being
irritating in
normal concentrations to people with pre-existing respiratory conditions.
Nitrogen dioxide is one of the compounds of atmospheric nitrogen that is
fixed by
lightning. Nitrogen dioxide is very nasty stuff, it is extremely poisonous
and it readily
combines with water to form nitric acid. Not good.
Ozone and nitrogen dioxide may or may not be serious hazards to people who
like
to play with Tesla coils. I would simply suggest that for the guys and gals
who play
with our extreme toys, we should have a better understanding of these
hazards. Do
these gasses present a true, real situation hazard in the concentrations we
encounter? How much nitrogen dioxide
is there at 10-20-30 feet from an active coil? What size coil? Same kind of
questions
for ozone.
Sorry guys and gals, so far I have heard just a lot of the sky is falling
junk science.
I still like the smell of ozone and please take it easy with the flame
throwers.
Happy day,
Ralph Zekelman