2 + 2 Is Not 4?

[ND66]

Oh, my......

ROME (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered particles of cocaine and marijuana, as well as caffeine and tobacco, in the air of Italy's capital, they said on Thursday.


The concentration of drugs was heaviest in the air around Rome's Sapienza university, though the National Research Council's Dr. Angelo Cecinato warned against drawing conclusions about students' recreational habits.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070531/wl_nm/italy_drugs_dc

[ZokesPro]

Makes me wonder if students will start sucking the air through filters to try and accumulate the coke suspended int he air.

[ND66]

Makes me wonder if students will start sucking the air through filters to try and accumulate the coke suspended int he air.

Not sure, but the admissions should be UP next year…. .


.

[KRSESQ]

"It is well documented that even small concentrations in the air of these pollutants can seriously damage health," said Dr. Ivo Allegrini of the CNR's Institute for Atmospheric Pollution.

No argument there.

The concentration of cocaine in Rome's atmosphere was only 0.1 nanogrammes (1 nanogramme is one billionth of a gramme) per cubic metre at its height during winter months, the researchers said. But the conclusions were worrying for public health.

Are they freaking kidding me??

Kevin

[ND66]

Are they freaking kidding me??

Kevin

When they said it here:

The concentration of drugs was heaviest in the air around Rome's Sapienza university......

it sounded like vapors from an opened can of paint thinner in a small, closed room, left there for the whole day, didn’t it?

Love that kind of power of suggestion!

.

[Fat Tone]

What is 0.1ng/m^3 in ppb? I'd like to know how you reliably measure something that small.

[Brian Ellis]

~0.1 ppt

Yes it's not too difficult to measure it. We're talking about aerosols of the substances, i.e., particles typically between 0.01 µm and 1 µm. It requires only microfiltration of a few tens of m3 and you would have enough to show a sizable blip on, e.g., a sensitive IR spectrometer. What is trickier at the sub-ppt level is measuring gases, for example, PFCs, as gas chromatographs are generally not that sensitive. Gas centrifuges (such as used for uranium enrichment) help.