h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Nitrogen Narcosis - A803891
Author: Stuart - U199978

This something I have experienced and have enjoyed the it, especially the last paragraph.

Hello Stuart, and welcome to Peer Review

You've written a pretty good entry here, and I don't see why, with a little polishing, it shouldn't go into the Edited Guide.

Have you tried any GuideML yet? The <./>GuideML-Clinic</.> will show you how to do it, and even if you've never done any coding (as was my case when I got here), it's pretty easy to learn. GuideML will allow you to put in headers and subheaders, which help to break up an entry into manageable portions, and it will also let you link to other h2g2 entries as well as outside websites. There's an entry here A311284 for instance about the hazards of scuba diving, which mentions nitrogen narcosis and which you could link to in your own entry (and vice-versa).

Anyone else care to comment?

I haven't been narc'd, yet, but that sounds like what I've been told by people who have.

There's a typo in the second sentence of the sixth paragraph where you're talking about numbness in the lips.

Looks good!

Hi Gordon,

You should try it one day - one of lifes experiences not to be missed.

This is the second time that a typo has been pointed out in the sentance ragarding numbness of the lips. Am I missing something? It's factually correct, the grammer is correct, the comas are all in the right places. Woould you care to be a bit more specific.

Regards


Stuart

Hi Stuart,

I read your piece and liked it, . I agree that it should make it into the edited guide.

as far as the typo is concerned, what they are trying to point out is that your text says:

"numbness IF the lips"

presumably, from your last post, you want to say

"numbness OF the lips"

, though I think "IN the lips " would also work.

As to the possibility of talking in a decompression chamber, i think the confusion arises from the fact that many people may fail to understand how it could be 'dangerous' to be able to speak under the circumstances. I realise you have gone for comic effect here, but perhaps a fresh look at that para might permit you to word it differently and get your point across more clearly (hopefully without losing the , )

hope this is helpful
all the best with this and future writings.

spiff

Hi Stuart,

Good entry! This should go in!

It's worth saying that the narcs don't just bring about euphoria - the heighten whatever you're feeling at the time, so one effect can be fear, depression, and paranoia. I used to dive quite a lot, and the only time I'm sure I was narced was at about 45 metres on a wreck in France. The waters were very clear, and it was still dark! I got a definite sense of feeling trapped and vulnerable that was more than just deeping diving anxiety!

It used to be called "raptures of the deep", but isn't always ratures nor always deep! In diver slang it's just "the narcs". (or at least it used to be)

Otto Fisch

Hi, nice article

The plural of gas is gases (not gasses).

Argon represents 1 % of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is very much lower in concentration than that so to say after Nitrogen and Oxygen it is the most abundant gas is not true

It might be a better analogy to say that partial pressure is analogous to the concentration of liquids in solution (eg, ethanol is about 40% concentration in Whisky).

Also, 1000 mbar is 'Standard' pressure at sea level and is the standard used in science. Mean atmospheric pressure is in fact 1013mbar at sea level


Other than those rather minor and not necessarily very important points a very nice article that should wing its way into the guide



Orcus

Thanks for that spiff.

I read the sentance regarding numbness of the lips umpteen times and still never spotted the error. It just shows you. When reading something you have written yourself, you read what you expect to read, not what is realy there.

Regards

Stuart

Hi Orcus,

Thanks for your comments

It seems that both spellings of the plural of gas is acceptable. My Wordperfect spell checker accepts both spellings.

While I agree that there are very small quantities of Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapour and Argon in the atmosphere, I mentioned the first two because they both play a part in respiration, whereas Argon does not. It is the presence of Carbon Dioxide that stimulates the brain to make you breath, not the absence of Oxygen as is often believed. Water vapour acts as a lubricant to the respiratory tract. If you have ever breathed a tank full of compressed air which has had the water vapour removed, you will know the difference.

I am afraid it is not correct to say 79% of Nitrogen in air is the analogous to a partial pressure of 790 millibars. The percentages of Nitrogen in air remains constant, regardless of the ambient pressure. The partial pressure varies with ambient pressure. That is the whole crux of the matter.

Perhaps I should have mentioned that as a diver goes deeper, the regulator valve on the air cylinder delivers the air at an ever increasing pressure. Otherwise the diver would not be able to draw air into his lungs due to the water pressure on his chest. Try taking a hose down to the bottom of a swimming pool and the other and on the surface and try breathing through it. At three metres it is difficult, at five metres it is impossible due to the water pressure.

Your comments regarding standard pressure and atmospheric pressure are noted. I will change the article and stick with standard pressure. It makes the sums easier!

Many thanks

Stuart

'If you have ever breathed a tank full of compressed air which has had the water vapour removed, you will know the difference.'

Yes, I was given an asthma attack in hospital once when they gave me a dry oxygen mask. It was only after my lungs siezed that they decided it was a godd idea to bubble it through oxygen.

Gasses is correct huh? Hmm, I'll go and shoot the person who used to correct that in my chemistry essays then.

Yes, I do know about partial pressures I was merely saying it might be advisable to give an analogy a layman might follow but seeing as you are talking about changing overall pressure then fair enough it's best left as you say. An analogy is just that, something to roughly compare it to - not *exactly* the same thing. Clearly the properties of the gases in the mixture play a big role as well.

The point about Argon was that it is vastly more abundant than CO2 but as I said, it's not really much of a criticism - just an observation really. I'm a chemist so these things are probably more important to me than you

Anyway thanks for taking my comments on board - it's a good article as I said and they were really minor quibbles.

Orcus

Second sentence there should read...

Yes, I was given an asthma attack in hospital once when they gave me a dry oxygen mask. It was only after my lungs siezed that they decided it was a godd idea to bubble it through water.

Hi Gosho,

Thanks for the comments. I'm working on GuideML but with a dial up connection I have to watch the time. Even unmetered connections limit your time. If there were some way to practice off-line it would make it a whole lot easier.

Regards

Stuart

This is good.

The only comment that I would make is to include something in the first paragraph or so explaining that Nitrogen Narcosis is not the Bends, but can be used to 'treat' the bends.

I had never heard of Nitrogen Narcosis, and it is always good to be shown that I am not as smart as I like to think I am.

This should be picked, and soon.

B

Thank you for your comments Ben. I will see if I can introduce the bends at an earliar stage in the discussion. I'm glad somebody has learnt something from my efforts.

Actually Nitrogen Narosis is not used to treat the bends, although it can be an effect of the treatment. However, nitrogen narcosis is a trivial matter in comparison to the bends which can leave you crippled, or in the the worst case, death.

Best wishes

Stuart

Ho Gosho,

I have changed the article to GuideMHL, with a little help from a girl called Ben . She pointed me to a downloadable of-line editor whcih makes the job a lot easier.

I have worked out how to link another article to mine, but how do I link somebody eleses article to mine. Do I have to ask one of the Sub-editors to do that for me.

Regards

Stuart

Hi, Stuart!

This is a very interesting entry. There was one sentence I didn't understand, where you said about decompression sickness 'The two are often confused but they are unrelated as Nitrogen Narcosis is caused by the same nitrogen gas in the air.' Why does having the same cause mean they are unrelated?

My Oxford English Dictionary gives only 'gases' as the plural, not 'gasses' - I think 'gasses' will strike so many people as wrong that even if others allow it the entry will read better with the more normal spelling 'gases'.

I think you reference to the 1% other gases would be better with argon first: if you said something like '1% other gases consisting mainly of argon, with small but important traces of carbon dioxide' that would make your point about the CO2 being more important to living things than the argon.

A couple of typos:
Divers with sever Nitrogen Narcosis => Divers with severe Nitrogen Narcosis
a deadpan look on the effected diver’’s face =>a deadpan look on the affected diver's face (2 changes).

Anyway, well done- this looks pretty well ready for the Edited Guide and it's not even a day in Peer Review yet!

Azara

Oh, and about the links - you can't link an Edited Entry to yours, since they are only supposed to link to other Edited Entries. You'll have to wait until this has gone through the whole editing process and appeared on the Front Page. Then you can ask on the Editorial Feedback page and the in-house editors should be able to put in the link.

Azara

Hi again,

Congratulations on getting the Guide ML working! I have a couple of new suggestions in addition to the thoughts above...

I think that the bends reference in the first paragraph is still confusing. Something like "the narcs should not be confused with "the bends", which are caused by ....... and can be fatal". I don't think that the two are often confused!

Secondly...

"The effects quickly wear off when the diver ascends to a shallower depth where the only residual effect is amnesia surrounding the time when they were narcotic."

I'm not sure that "narcotic" can be used as a description of state of user - I've only ever seen it used as a definition of substance and effect. Would "under the influence" be better?

Enough carping, though! This is excellent, and as everyone else has said, should go into the guide.

Otto

Thanks for the comments Azara. Your observations are noted and will be changed

Regards

Stuart

Hi Azra,

Further to your comments, both nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness are caused by the nitrogen in the air we breath. Decompression sickness is caused by the nitrogen coming out of solution when the diver ascends. They do not both occur at the same time. Remove the nitrogen and you remove the threat of nitrogen narcosis. Replace it with something else such a helium as happens with North Sea divers and there is no nitrogen narcosis but you can still get decompression sickness from the helium.

Basically, nitrogen narcosis is a psychological condition while decompression sickness is a physiological one.

Hope this clarifies the point.

Regards

Stuart