alt Hacker NewsCO2 does not stream out when you exhale like a fluid. It’s a gas. It dissipates quite immediately and behaves as all gases do - it expands to fill its container via something like Brownian Motion.
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fc417fc802 • yesterday at 7:16 PM
Actually what you exhale is a fluid.
The CO2 content is a single chemical species within a mixed gas. Any air currents will cause mixing. Otherwise it undergoes diffusion which is actually a fairly slow process, although much faster in gases than in liquids.
Dissipation does not happen instantly.
I’ve done development on products with CO2 sensors and I’ve spent a lot of time with them on my desk right in front of me and also off to the side. Readings right in front of me are predictably higher.
You can breathe into a CO2 sensor 18 inches from your mouth and watch the values spike upward.