Sunday, January 16, 2011

Oxygen

Important points previously discussed during lesson
·         Oxygen, being soluble in water enables life in water bodies possible. Imagine if oxygen is not soluble, there would be no fish and aquatic plants!

·         Oxygen is a constituent of DNA. Previously, I only know oxygen supports life but did not know that it is actually part of our DNA.

·         Highly concentrated sources of oxygen promote rapid combustion. Too much oxygen can actually cause death indirectly if we are not careful in handling it!

·         Exposure to large amount of oxygen for a long period can cause lung damage. Isn’t it quite shocking that oxygen can also have harmful effects!

Interesting facts about oxygen
·         Excited oxygen is responsible for the bright red and yellow-green colours of the aurora.

·         Breathing too much oxygen will cause hallucinations and unconsciousness.

·         Pure oxygen atmosphere results in rapid metabolism and extremely fast cell death and aging in organisms.

·         The brain alone uses more than 25% of the oxygen used by the human body.

·         The brain stops function if no oxygen is supplied to it for 5 to 10 minutes, resulting in brain damage.

·         More oxygen gets into your lungs and into your brain when you yawn, making you feel more alert and energetic.

Feelings
Now I not only know oxygen as a gas that supports life, but also how variations in oxygen concentration in the body produce different reactions. Apart from the presence of oxygen in the human body, I have learnt that oxygen is also responsible for the natural and beautiful aurora. This made me realise that many things that we learn in the module can actually be used to explain phenomenons that we never thought has a scientific theory behind it.

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