Silly Oxygen Question!

stereo_steve

I been thinking aboutt this for a while and if there are any doctors or biology people around I'd love to know the answer!

Next to Flourine, Oxygen is the most electronegitive element. So why doesn't it react with us? Try to bond with out skin or other body parts? Why doesn't it react with everything on the way to our lungs?

I realise that this sounds like a very odd question but I would really like to know the answer!

Victor

It does, just at a very slow rate. If you lived in a 100% oxygen environment, you skin would tend to age quicker.

kiffer

Originally posted by stereo_steve
I been thinking aboutt this for a while and if there are any doctors or biology people around I'd love to know the answer!

Next to Flourine, Oxygen is the most electronegitive element. So why doesn't it react with us? Try to bond with out skin or other body parts? Why doesn't it react with everything on the way to our lungs?

I realise that this sounds like a very odd question but I would really like to know the answer!

Originally posted by stereo_steve

It does, just at a very slow rate. If you lived in a 100% oxygen environment, you skin would tend to age quicker.

the other thing is that all (most of) the Oxygen in the atmosphere is in bonded pairs and so you need to have energy to break this bond before it will bond with some thing else ...
if you had atomic Oxygen it would rapidly oxydise things but with molecular Oxygen it takes time and energy(change)

Kiffer is trying to remember redox reactions :-)

stereo_steve

Thanks, makes sense. Its great to have people round that are able to answer all my silly questions!