Is carbon monoxide a heavy gas?

When we talk about gases, some are heavier than others. Some would require more air to move them while others will go straight up effortlessly like they don’t have any care in the world. Well, Carbon Monoxide is one of those gases that many people believe is a heavyweight champion in the game of ‘gases.’

The first impression

At first glance or even from what you learned in High School Chemistry (which should be eons ago), you might assume that Carbon Monoxide (CO) is indeed a heavy and weighty gas. It’s because when we looked at the periodic table, CO is just one atom away from Nitrogen(N2), which has an atomic mass of 28 AMU(Absolute Mass Units).

We all know what happens when we make assumptions -it makes things harder for everyone involved-

So let me burst your bubble! Carbon Monoxide isn’t actually considered as a“heavy” gas.

So why do most think that it’s Heavy?

The reason lies within our dear old friend Gravity!

To properly understand how gravity works with gases let’s borrow an analogy: Picture two balloons filled up with helium and water vapor released into space(also known as zero gravity). As soon as those baloons are out in celestial voids, both begin expanding until their contents mix evenly across space.The Size difference between Helium balloon & Water Vapor Balloon becomes irrelevant; They’re both happily floating around without them feeling any impact due to gravity

Let’s get back to CO again; despite being lighter compared to Oxygen(O2) and Nitrogen(N2), It still feels much denser than either N2 or O2(Symbols galore!). That observation solely depends on factors such bulk modulus(An aspect indicating resistivity against changes caused by pressure applied externally).

More so? Humans tend towards overestimating how heavy objects are in relation to their actual mass. Psychologists have been saying that we tend to rely more on our visual than tactile senses, and we all know how confusing it gets when you see the height difference between The Rock & Kevin Hart (No offence Kev!).

Now back to CO: despite being about 28% lighter compared to N2(If You are still following along with me). It is much denser because the chemical bond created between Carbon(C) & Oxygen(O) accounts for an increased number of photons absorbed at any given moment.

What is Density?

Density simply refers to how much volume a gas takes up based on its air mass. In other words, We measure how compact something is by using density units which will express a corresponding amount of Mass over Volume(Measured as grams per meter cubed).

-Bet the term “compactness” never hit your mind right?-

When determining gas densities relative to One another, Temperature and atmospheric pressure play crucial roles in shifting its characteristic features(hint hint!). Hence I can categorically state that carbon monoxide’s comparative density lies within other gases like Oxygen and Nitrogen at similar temperatures under identical atmospheric conditions.

A point of comparison

Another way of comprehending what we’ve so far said above could be achieved through analogies(as they say -‘you eat Humour for breakfast’)! Here’s one where Imagine placing CO on top of Air then scanning through it vertically while capturing data.

The collected data represents Different weights(material densities) according resulting from different pressures exerted upon them(Air vs.CO). Height measurements during this activity reflect material densities located at certain altitudes(Lower altitude less dense, Higher altitude more concentrated or denser).

“Hmm…ok.”- hangs reader!: ‘So does Carbon Monoxide sink?’

I don’t blame you if that was what crossed your mind (Assuming you were paying attention)-People love a straightforward answer, and I’ll give it to you: Yes! Carbon Monoxide indeed sinks.

A dense nature doesn’t necessarily mean that CO is also a heavy gas, but it does suggest that the individual molecules will want to stay near the surface instead of floating away like helium balloons. To see what I mean by this in reality; picture yourself holding a plastic bag up & open onto where wind or gust is actively blowing, eventually catching something inside until its full- Same thing applies to carbon monoxide with air molecules serving as the “bag” instead!

Since Temperature warms objects up(gets them all hyped), It makes sense we ask ourselves how temperature factors into measuring denseness! Spoiler alert?- Yass!!! It actually does.

Many would recall from their high school Chemistry sets that when heat energy increases, Molecules become more excited(and at times obnoxious) leading them to occupy larger space hence rendering themselves less compact(Don’t worry- You got me!). So If your gaseous object sits at hot temperatures relative to atmospheric conditions then expect it’s Density value (mass per volume) decreased!

Conclusion

In conclusion? Despite humans considering Carbon Monoxide(CO) heavy through visual indicators and molecular density ‘CO remains lighter’ compared against O2 and N2 gases commonly used in our atmosphere. The essential takeaway point here today boils down more on understanding Molecular Densities than making sweeping baseless assumptions based on how something appears(Famous saying ‘never judge a book by its cover’)!

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