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>Air is Not a mixed gas. Nobody mixed it, nobody had to test it to make >sure what was in it. Neither is air a "normoxic nitrox mix". Air is air, >the stuff that comes from the atmosphere. That is, unless Mother Nature >has become a dive shop owner, in which case she will soon be charging us >for breathing :-) Not trying to start a tiff, just trying to keep one >very important fact straight. > Sincerely, Paul Air can be correctly defined as 'mixed gas', due to the fact that is *is* a mixture of 21% Oxygen and 79% Nitrogen. The reason for defining it this why is to respond to the invalid arguments against Nitrox, used by people who do not understand it. For instance, one of the arguments used by those opposed to nitrox was that it could 'stratify' in the tank. This, in theory, would cause the diver to breath a mix that had a PO2 that was to high or to low. The problem with this argument was simple. If it was possible for nitrox to 'stratify', then air would have the same problem due to the fact that it is a mixed gas with a lower percentage of O2, and if air could stratify, the entire planet is in trouble. So defining air as mixed gas helps to clarify issues to ignorant or misinformed people..... Scott Irvine, California IRVINE!ENG1!sfarinha@be*.at*.co* -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@terra.net'. Send subscription/archive requests to `techdiver-request@terra.net'.
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