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Does space smell?


Belial

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I was wondering the other night, if space as a odour, and if so what is it, and why?

anyone...

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I was wondering the other night, if space as a odour, and if so what is it, and why?

anyone...

Your kidding right?

Space has no odour because theres no atmosphere in fact if you took of your space helmet the air would be sucked from your lungs and you would die. Every limb in your body would swell to about twice their size, you would also freeze pretty solid after a short while too.

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Ummmmm Yeah, Air is what carries smell I beleive. So, what ever you do dont fart in your space suit. lol

Which brings me to say, If and when aliens are real, "Do they smell". Oh thats right most pix ive seen of aliens dont have noses."Doh" Oh well never mind.

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Your kidding right?

Space has no odour because theres no atmosphere in fact if you took of your space helmet the air would be sucked from your lungs and you would die. Every limb in your body would swell to about twice their size, you would also freeze pretty solid after a short while too.

I'm pretty sure he meant on a much more hypothetical basis. Like, if in the event the human body was made in such away it could withstand the vacuum of space, if you smelled it would it have a scent?

Though I'd more agree that it's air that carries scent. So it's probably unlikely that you'd smell anything.

I'd like to think it'd smell like rain. I don't know why, that's just what I imagine. lol.

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I always though it might smell like ice, you know when It fizzes in your glass of water and the cold frost goes up your nose. Gassy maybe. Or when you smell the fresh air first thing in the morning before the wind starts to blow.

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There are no odour molecules in space, without odour molecules our ORNs ( Olfactory receptor neurons) and part of the sensory system do not work.

Anyways..... Astronauts tend to lose their senses of smell and taste. This is thought to be because to the congestion in the nose resulting from the increased capillary pressure as the heart no longer has to work against gravity. As a consequence the sinuses tends to fill up with fluid, giving rise to a feeling of stuffiness similar to a head cold.

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simple.. no air, no odor.

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If it does it is so faintly that it cannot be smelled due to the low concentration of matter in space. It could take several years before an adequate molecule hits your olfactory senses.

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There are no odour molecules in space, without odour molecules our ORNs ( Olfactory receptor neurons) and part of the sensory system do not work.

Anyways..... Astronauts tend to lose their senses of smell and taste. This is thought to be because to the congestion in the nose resulting from the increased capillary pressure as the heart no longer has to work against gravity. As a consequence the sinuses tends to fill up with fluid, giving rise to a feeling of stuffiness similar to a head cold.

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Yes, in outer space there is an array of smells. You don't need air to carry the smell, all you need is the molecules to trigger the olfactory receptors in your nose. Even so there is a lot of air in space, just found spaced out. Some areas might have basically no smell while others would have numerous scents.

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I think it smells like roses. Anyone smell it before? Hehehe...how would you know?

That's probably the best reply yet!

;)

No, sweetie, no one ever smelled it.

I think no one would attempt to try.

I was wondering the other night, if space as a odour, and if so what is it, and why?

anyone...

It's really not a bad question.

Odor is a sensation which is caused by mostly organic molecules, although there are inorganic molecules which are odorants as well. These molecules are dissolved in air.

The sensation is perceived by receptors in the nose, which of course transfers them to the portion of the human brain which processes olefactory inputs. This produces a highly subjective reaction.

But the bottom line to "smell" is that it requires organic or inorganic odorants suspended in air. In other words, it requires something (air), which contains something else in it (an odorant), that can enter the nose in order to trigger the receptors which produces the perception of odor.

You've got to be able to breathe in order to smell something.

Now, space is almost completely nothing.

Of course, it's not entirely empty. However, relative to atmosphere here on Earth (where, incidentally the sense of smell evolved, utilizing the constituents of our atmosphere in order to develop the sense), it's absolutely vacant of anything. Thus it has no smell whatsoever, since it isn't anything but vacuum.

Further, attempting to smell space would involve opening your helmet, so you could sniff.

Remember that people who work in space have these really expensive suits they wear. This is because humans evolved and live in an atmosphere which consists of something. They cannot live in an environment that consists of nothing...thus, the really expensive suits which hold someting all around them under pressure so they can live and work in that environment.

Unfortunately, due to the zero pressure outside your suit, the pressure inside your suit would rapidly bleed out of your hat in rapid fashion, and you would find yourself suddenly having the air sucked right out of your lungs...rendering you absolutely unable to sniff, momentarily wondering (in an horrific panic) why you ever thought of such an idea in the first place, unconscious within about 10 to 12 seconds (for physiological reasons I shall not get into here (it's yucky)), and thoroughly dead within a matter of minutes.

So, no, space has no smell, and thus cannot be smelled, because it is actually nothing. It is also incredibly foolhardy to attempt it, and would be a fatal experiment.

Not a pleasant day for any human being.

:tu:

...however, the idea that it smells like roses is nice. I however, would accept that without ever attempting to prove it!

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I was wondering the other night, if space as a odour, and if so what is it, and why?

anyone...

Good point. I've often wondered why an astronaut hasn't lifted up his visor and taken a good sniff.

Perhaps someone should suggest this to Nasa.. as part of a new scientific experiment to try during the next space shuttle mission.

I hypthosize that indeed space would not only have an odour but that it would smell like extremely strong CRAP.

Edited by billyhill
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That's probably the best reply yet!

;)

No, sweetie, no one ever smelled it.

I think no one would attempt to try.

It's really not a bad question.

TY MIDDIE :)

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Now, of course we all know space doesn't have any air.. but astronauts are fit. So, I'm sure they could hold their breath longer than the average person.

So, while holding their breath.. one could, quickly take a quick sniff. Just a really quick one mind!

And report back..to Houston describing what spaces smells like... before he/she...suffocates or maybe explodes.

It can be done... we just need the right people made of the right stuff!

Edited by billyhill
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How cold is it in space?

er about as cold as a cold day in London. winter time of course.

Or if you stick your hand in the fridge for one minute... it'll be as cold as space.

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I hear that in deep space, the Rose Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud is occasioned by nano-diamonds. Sounds like a place where fresh comet mist of essence of rosewater might along with diamonds might be the basis for a good bit of imagination.

linked-image

I also have it on good authority that at high-altitudes, around 92,000 ft., it might smell like fresh coffee- at least one pound of the stuff found its way there-

JP Aerospace

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er about as cold as a cold day in London. winter time of course.

Or if you stick your hand in the fridge for one minute... it'll be as cold as space.

I think it is colder then that.

I hear that in deep space, the Rose Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud is occasioned by nano-diamonds. Sounds like a place where fresh comet mist of essence of rosewater might along with diamonds might be the basis for a good bit of imagination.

Interesting thoughts.

Edited by Blue_Sphere
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There are lots of gases, and some 130 known molecules detected in space through radio and infrared astronomy. Close to a main sequence star, most free molecules would be irradiated into their constituent atoms. At the extremes of circumstellar distance, comets might process on their surface, organic or other compounds made from atoms, dust, water, and UV.

In interstellar space, dust bearing molecular clouds are found in various locations. These clouds can produce Methanol - CH3OH. It may form on the surfaces of interstellar dust grains, during gas phase chemistry. That may happen as as shockwaves progress through the cold cloud, as the energy from new starlight flows outward.

The methanol may then be liberated from the dust, as starlight begins to warm its surroundings.

Infrared energy, in turn, is released from the dust grains, as they are exposed to increased UV. The infrared, in turn, is thought to form new compounds from the alcohols present on the surface of the dust. This energy process next induces methanol, for example, to release microwave energy in the 6.7 GHz range. This generates a maser effect, detectable by radio telescopes.

From the Merlin Radio Telescope Array, 6.7 GHz contours outline a star forming region, where methanol masers occur-

linked-image

The warming of the dust grains, by the inital stellar UV, also shows up in many Spitzer Space Telescope images of various star forming regions. 8 micron infrared is released by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which form after the dust grains themselves are heated by the UV energy released by the new stars.

linked-image

There are other compounds detected as well. But, I just thought to mention the methanol, because it gets fairly energetic, and has kind of a sweet smell (though very toxic). And, PAH compounds, while also found throughout a galaxy like ours, can be toxic in their raw form.

And, of course, those environments have nothing to do with our current planetary existance, other than to possibly contribute to its formative stages.

Edited by magnetar
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I edited that post, to reflect something a little more realistic. By analogy, a pleasant or sweet smell. Or, in the case of PAHs, something sooty or smelling like tar.

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No lie , I just had the same question enter my mind , about three days ago,.. interesting question, even moreso, would smell even matter if we are frozen dead floating in space.?

I would think with so much space , the stars might act as a airwick air freashener in the universe. lol

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Dark mass or super novas? lol

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I think other posters have already touched on this, but just in case....

"Space" is NOT a total vacuumn.. there ARE molecules floating around. I think the most prelevant is Hydrogen, though there may be others.

So the universe has the potential to smell. But as Questionmark pointed out, our noses are not ideal receptors for this smell, as it would take many years to accumulate enough random molecules for our noses to analyse the scent, by which time most noses would have got bored and wandered off. (they may even have run :P )

Meow Purr.

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