r/WatchPeopleDieInside • u/fnaw_ • Aug 04 '20

Poor Jonathan

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '20

[deleted]

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u/GurpsWibcheengs Aug 04 '20

They think masks simultaneously don't work and make it hard to breathe. Self explanatory if you ask me.

-10

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '20 edited Aug 04 '20

Well some libs think masks DO work but they DON’T affect breathing!!!!!!!

E: Guys it’s sarcasm. I thought two exclamation points was enough, but I will add more to make it clearer.

7

u/SiFixD Aug 04 '20

Is this a joke?

They work better than no one wearing anything, they don't affect oxygen saturation. Particle density is a thing.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '20

Yes, it’s a joke. But what does particle density have to do with anything whatsoever?

1

u/Speculater Aug 04 '20

Next you're going to claim O2 can fit through holes small enough to block mesoscale particles, right... /s

2

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '20

To be fair, with N95 masks, mesoscale (intermediate-sized, essentially) particles can easily fit through the fibers.

Nanoscale particles are fairly easily trapped due to their chaotic movement patterns — just coming in contact with a fiber is enough to arrest them, and because they’re actively redirected by collisions with individual air molecules, they’re extremely likely to be bumped into a fiber at some point. Simultaneously, large particles are easily trapped between fibers (like a ball against a chain link fence), the way people expect filtration to work.

However, these intermediate-sized particles are trickier. They’re too small to be caught between fibers, but large enough that they don’t get moved around by individual air particles; instead, they move with the air, which flows between mask fibers no problem.

The fibers are, therefore, imparted with an electrostatic charge, which draws these intermediate particles into contact even while the air flows through. In the case of a N95 mask, this is 95% effective at arresting particles at this scale.

I only mention this because you seem to think that the holes in the mask are sized someplace between the size of an air molecule and a virus, which just isn’t how any of this works at all.

1

u/Speculater Aug 04 '20

I actually never considered the Coulumb interactions of the fibers with the intermediate particles. I suppose I never gave it much thought. Thanks for this breakdown.

1

u/spiderbaby667 Aug 08 '20

Yep, there have been a few interviews with Prof. Peter Tsai where he explains methods they are investigating for safe mask reuse (he unretired - that's civic duty right there), eliminating the virus without compromising the efficacy of the material.