I stand corrected (I'm no chemist, as you can see!).
Meanwhile, any ideas on the NO angle?
F. LeFever
In <7dn7n3$8oe$1 at oravannahka.Helsinki.FI>
dag.stenberg at helsinki.nospam.fi writes:
>>F. Frank LeFever <flefever at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>> What some people inhale for recreational purposes is, I believe, NO2
>> (not N2O), i.e. nitrous oxide. I believe there has been some
evidence
>> published that suggestts long-term abuse of this gas may cause brain
>> damage. I believe tthe interpretation has been that this is due to
>> hypoxia, but it occurs to me that the (as yet little studied)
possible
>> consequence of increased brain levels of NO (nitric oxide) might
also
>> play a role...
>>Actually N2O, not NO2. It is necessary to mix at least 15% oxygen with
this,
>as hypoxia will otherwise occur. Of course, a short sniff of pure N2O
will
>not create severe hypoxia, and as long as someone takes the pure N2O
away
>in time, there should not be any brain damage. Possible (individual)
>euphoric effects do not require simultaneous hypoxia.
>>Dag Stenberg
>