>From:    Ferret McDuff <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: To Dayna...Cheater's Air conditioning
>
>a 10 lb block (2inch x10 x10) of dry ice for about $2.00.  Putting this in
>front of a fan will keep a small room cool very effectively.
 
Uh, no.  Reality check, here.  Dry is is frozen carbon dioxide.  CO2 is
heavier than most of the gases in the atmosphere that we breathe, including
oxygen.  A foot of fog on the floor would result in a one foot deep region
along your floor where a breathing ferret is not going to be getting
sufficient oxygen to continue said breathing.
 
As an educational experiment, pick up so dry ice the next time you get a
change.  Drop a piece in your sink, perhaps with a little warm water to
speed the whole process.  Your sink will rapidly fill with this fog.  Now,
close your eyes, hold your breath, and stick your head in the sink.  Open
you eyes.  Notice the sting?  Stick your tongue out.  You can kind of taste
it too, can't ya?  The CO2 is reacting with the water in your eyes and on
your tongue to form a very weak acid.  Pull your head out of the sink.  Take
a few breaths.  Now, take a 1/2 breath, hold it, stick your head back in the
sink, and carefully take a small breath.  A small breath is all you need
because your lungs will pretty quickly inform you that this stuff just isn't
acceptable.
 
Don't do this to cool your ferrets or any other animals small enough that
they may have to breathe the CO2 rich fog!
 
 
Kirk Haines                          |My opinions are my own, not my        +
[log in to unmask]           |employers'                            +
Systems' Analyst/Administrator       +--------------------------------------+
        U S WEST Communications      |
        700 West Mineral Avenue      |
        Littleton, CO  80120         |
[Posted in FML issue 1592]