What would happen if the Earth lost oxygen for 5 seconds?
Imagine if all the Earth’s oxygen disappeared. Not forever, just for say, 5 seconds? Would we just hold our breath? What would happen to the atmosphere? What would happen to the environment? Here’s what would happen if the world lost oxygen for just 5 seconds.
Oxygen may not be the most abundant gas in the atmosphere (that’s nitrogen), but it is certainly the most important one. Without it, no living being can survive. Have you ever wondered what would happen if the whole world was cut off from its oxygen supply for a mere 5 seconds?
You might think think that holding your breath for 5 seconds isn’t a very big deal. I mean, come on, it’s just 5 seconds after all!
In reality, however, if the whole world was deprived of it for that long, the results would be catastrophic.
Some debilitating changes would occur if that were to happen:
1) The sky during the day would get dark
Light from the Sun reaches the Earth’s surface as a result of multiple reflections that occur when light particles bounce off the particles in the air (dust, oxygen molecules, other impurities in the air). The absence of oxygen means less particles for the light to bounce on, so the sky would appear dark, almost black, actually. Essentially, light would reach the Earth, but it would seem as if though it were being emitted from a point source, as opposed to what we normally see (the rays of the Sun spread in every direction).
2) Earth’s crust would crumble
3)The oceans and other water bodies will start evaporating into space.
Water has two constituents – 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen. Without the 33% oxygen, water would just be free hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas, being the lightest of all the elements, will rise to the upper troposphere and slowly bleed out into space. So, potentially, the Earth could become a huge planet of only deserts in almost no time at all without our precious oxygen.
4)Pieces of untreated metals in contact would instantly become welded to each other.
The reason metals don’t weld on contact is that they are coated in a layer of oxidation. Invacuum conditions, metal welds without any intermediate liquid phase. This is the principle used in cold welding. In this process, small metallic objects are welded together directly, without melting the interface between the two objects. These metals are placed in a vacuum so that the absence of oxygen aids in fusing the metals together.
Take a nice deep breath. Feel how satisfying that is? What you’re breathing in is oxygen, that takes up roughly 21% of our atmosphere, with 78% being nitrogen. Although it’s not the most abundant gas in our atmosphere, it is the most important. Without oxygen, plants, animals, water and us humans wouldn’t be where we are today.
5 seconds may not sound like a whole lot of time to be without oxygen. Most of us can go at least 30 seconds without taking a breath, so…It would happen too fast for your body to even notice. Your breathing would actually remain normal. But as for everything else? Not so much.
In just 5 seconds, the Earth would look completely different. Without oxygen, you can say goodbye to the Hoover Dam, the Pantheon Dome and anything else made out of concrete. These structures would instantly collapse.
Oxygen acts as a special binding agent to concrete. Without it, concrete is just dust.
Speaking of buildings, any untreated metal would be instantly be fused together. This is because there’s a layer of oxidation on metals that prevents them from welding together. Without that layer, metals would instantly bind to each other.
If you happen to be relaxing at the beach at the time expect a severe sunburn. The ozone layer, our protection against the sun’s UV rays, is made of oxygen. Three oxygen atoms that have bonded to create ozone. Take away the oxygen, and the Earth would get extremely hot. There would nothing protecting us from the sun’s UV rays.In addition to a sunburn, our inner ear would explode. Losing oxygen means losing 21% of our air pressure. A change in air pressure that drastic is equivalent to being at sea level and dropping down 2000 meters instantly. Our ears wouldn’t have enough time to adapt.
Having a good time yet? Well, don’t expect it to last long. Without oxygen, there’s no fire – the combustion process in vehicles won’t be able to occur. Any mode of transport that isn’t electric will automatically fail. Planes will fall from the sky, and millions of cars will be stopped in their tracks.
The sky would be completely dark. Before it hits the earth, light from the sun bounces off multiple particles in the air. Without oxygen in the atmosphere, there are less things to bounce off, and the sky will appear dark… almost black.
Oh yeah, and while all this is happening, the Earth’s crust would completely crumble. That’s because Earth’s crust is made up of 45% oxygen. Without oxygen involved in the surface there wouldn’t be much left. The crust would crumble, and continue to crumble until there’s nothing left, sending you and everyone on the planet into a free-fall.Sound like fun? Probably not. But luckily you can take a deep breath of 21% oxygen knowing that this will never happen.
5) Every structure made of concrete would crumble.
Oxygen is an important binder in concrete structures, and without it, the compounds do not hold their rigidity.We already know that oxygen is important for survival, but losing it even for a mere 5 seconds can be dangerous, if not fatal.
6) Vehicles with internal combustion engines would stop working.
All cars running on any type of fuel that relies on internal combustion engines (everything except electric cars) would just stop, since there isn’t any oxygen for the combustion process to occur. We would see planes, helicopters and even space shuttles falling from the sky for the same reason.
7) Everyone’s inner ear would explode.
We would lose about 21% of the air pressure in an instant, which would be similar to jumping from sea level to nearly 2000m almost instantly. This would prevent the eardrums from becoming acclimated to the changes in pressures. We would experience something called barotrauma (refers to injury sustained from failure to equalize the pressure of an air-containing space with that of the surrounding environment). Barotrauma usually occurs when there is a sudden change in pressures. For example, during deep sea diving or air travel, we feel as though our ears have gotten clogged up. In the absence of oxygen, we would experience something like this, but on a much larger scale. Therefore, expect some serious hearing loss.
Except the above points,people would not notice any changes in the term of breathing,people relaxing in the sun would get terrible burn,the day would become as dark as night etc.
CONCLUSION: To write this article,I got help from Scienceabc,Wikipedia,Insh.world,
Independent.co.uk,newsnationtv.com.etc.Thanks for reading the article. Watch Video
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