Exactly as the title asks.
Pure oxygen is generally represented as O2 yet oxygen is an element of the periodic table. Why is it O2 and not just O?
Exactly as the title asks.
Pure oxygen is generally represented as O2 yet oxygen is an element of the periodic table. Why is it O2 and not just O?
Can you breathe just O by itself without it being in O2 molecule?
Edit: I did some searching and apparantly you couldn’t breathe just an Oxygen atom by itself, it needs to be an O2. (Correct me if I’m wrong)
This question doesn’t even make sense. If atomic oxygen somehow magically appeared in your respiratory tract, it would immediately react with itself and probably burn you to death.
Yes. Nascent oxygen (O) is very reactive, somewhat like peroxide and ozone, so it could be used to burn off organic matter.
Now, if you don’t want it to react (too fast) with itself and produce molecular oxygen you may dilute it at low concentration into some inert gas (nitrogen or helium for example).
Taking 2 or 3 breath of this gas mixture once in a while would eventually get @WtfEvenIsExistence1 with Acute inhalation injury
I suspect it would rapidly react and give off energy as heat. This would likely be incompatible with life.
Not an expert.