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The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#34

Post by mrob »

FriedPickles wrote: post #12

I wonder if there's a cheaper filler gas we could use besides He. Perhaps methane, hydrogen, or acetylene, though they're quite flammable.

I wonder how pure oxygen (at low pressure to avoid toxicity) would work. There's still a substantial fire risk, as the Apollo 1 fire demonstrated, but unlike flammable filler gases it won't immediately kill you with a single spark. With a sufficiently fire-proof environment, and a full body fire-proof suit, maybe it could be done.

EDIT: Although it seems the Apollo 1 fire happened with a pressurized oxygen atmosphere, not reduced pressure. Still, reduced pressure has its own dangers, because there could be sudden re-compression if the vacuum chamber failed. Re-compression barotrauma appears to be poorly studied (people don't usually work in partial vacuum). Or you could get crushed to death by the vacuum chamber imploding.

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#35

Post by aaronscott »

slau wrote: post #5

Just completed my deep (40m/120ft) diver certification. A significant amount of the course was focused on nitrogen narcosis, and how to handle/detect it. Apparently, some divers will start feeling the narcotic effect between 20-30m. Beyond 30m, a significant amount of divers can feel the effects. Beyond 40m is the realm of tech diving, with trimix (helium/nitrogen/oxygen) or even heliox (helium/oxygen). I know nothin…

Your comment about being continuously narked reminded me how in early human history people relied on low-alcohol beer as a safe water supply. So back then it was a double-whammy.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-conflicted-hi...

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#36

Post by scythe »

mholm wrote: post #4

A 10% increase in reaction time could be fairly significant in many sports. Could we start seeing football players, sprinters, or baseball players breathing from masks between plays?

Would be awkward for moving sports. My first thought upon seeing this was that it would be a real improvement in the Melee reaction tech-chasing meta.

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#37

Post by ambicapter »

jjk166 wrote: post #21
slau wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While scuba diving, nitrogen narcosis stops the instant you ascend a bit (the typical recommendation is to reduce the ambient pressure by one atmosphere). I don’t think there is anything in this study that indicates the effect lasts more than a few minutes after exposure ceases.

Depending on exactly what one's doing, it's easily conceivable that the exposure can be concurrent with the activity. Maybe not football, where lugging around a compressed gas tank on the field is likely impractical if not dangerous, but a sport like Formula 1 or many E-sports would likely be quite conducive for an individual, and other sports like wrestling or swimming could probably be done entirely in a room with…

I've always wondered if fighter pilots ever had a system to pump different gases into their masks whenever they encounter a high-stakes situation.

Re: The anesthetic effect of air at atmospheric pressure

#40

Post by pdc56 »

sideshowb wrote: post #38

Anecdotally, as a mountaineer, I love the effect of a little less atmospheric pressure. Not loads less, above 3000m it starts getting inconvenient. But 1000-2000m my mind feels more clear and focused than at sea level. I wonder if this is related?

I've found this too, but assumed it was placebo.

I lived at 6500' for a while - that was too high.

The sweet spot for me is a particular mountain I go to which starts at 1200m and goes to 2000 (although I don't spend time at the peak - it's a ski field).

Thanks for your anecdote, now I feel I can take my observations more seriously

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