What is Nitrogen? Why is it important?

Nitrogen is a poisonous substance, toxic even with the slightest exposure to the human skin…

But isn’t this harmful substance known as nitrogen all around, all throughout the atmosphere…

Nitrogen was originally from enstatite chondrite-like, reduced impactors from the inner solar system, while subsequently from increasingly oxidized impactors and minimal CI-chondrite-like materials during the main accretion phase of the early Solar System. Currently, nitrogen is engulfing the world, flooding 78% of the atmosphere as a colorless and odorless gas making it a “silent killer” and perfect for poison, since even a sliver of liquid nitrogen spiked into your drink could reach potentially dangerous levels – it’s even in ice cream…

Nonetheless, nitrogen is what we as humans breathe and it’s impossible to live without this seemingly harmful substance, as there are severe complications, dynamics and various parameters that ruptures the chance of living healthily without 非活性氮…  Now, there might be whispers, thoughts inside your head forming, – ‘Is this why we die?’ ‘That’s not possible!’ ‘I’m confused’ – you might even be googling this right here and now, or you are waiting patiently for the grand reveal, or well, hurrying for the grand reveal…or perhaps, you already know the truth. 

Welp, jokes over then – no, not every type of nitrogen are poisonous, yes, there are types. Nitrogen exists in various different forms, including both inorganic (N2 gas, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium) and organic (amines, amides, alkyl nitrates, nitrosamines, nitroarenes, and peroxyacyl nitrates) forms. Sometimes, nitrogen is pure-nitrogen where even the slightest drop of this type of nitrogen could ravage you in a bloody haze, while other times, nitrogen is the non-reactive kind – more specifically, the type of nitrogen which is in the atmosphere, and also what you breathe. 

As previously stated, humans require this questionable substance inorder to survive, as critics have stated that “...nitrogen is a main body component and is required for both tissue protein synthesis and the production of several nitrogenous compounds involved in a variety of functions (hormones, immune mediators, neurotransmitters, antioxidant defenses, etc.)Thus, the body nitrogen content should be both quantitatively and qualitatively normal, as well as normally maintained, to ensure normal body functions.” (stated within the chapter “Nitrogen Balance and Protein Requirements: Definition and Measurements,” of the book “Cachexia and Wasting: A Modern Approach” by by Giovanni Mantovani (Editor), Stefan D. Anker (Co-editor), Akio Inui (Co-editor), John E. Morley (Co-editor), Filippo Rossi Fanelli (Co-editor), Daniele Scevola (Co-editor), Michael W. Schuster (Co-editor), Shing-Shing Yeh (Co-editor)) This substance isn’t something that you could avoid breathing in since it is literally 78% of the atmosphere. And no, don’t try and challenge this idea and attempt to hold your breath. 

Pure nitrogen requires three main and complicated process in order to obtain this previously mentioned substance, these processes being cryogenic distillation, membrane separation, and pressure-swing adsorption (PSA), though the selection of the process depends on the product flow rate, purity, and state (liquid or gas) of the nitrogen you are attracting the purer version from. 

BOOMY!!!

You’ll be suffocating in an instant by this explosion’s effect, poisoned through suffocation through the symptoms that this explosion causes for your surroundings, with the explosiveness of nitrogen-containing compounds being driven by the large release of energy that occurs when the nitrogen-nitrogen triple bonds form. 

From a nitrogen explosion, oxygen would be displaced, leading to asphyxiation in confined spaces, meaning that considering the fact that breathing an oxygen deficient atmosphere can have serious and immediate effects, you’ll likely experience unconsciousness after only one or two breaths. Moreover, breathing high levels of nitrogen oxides can possibly cause rapid burning, spasms, and swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract, reduced oxygenation of body tissues, a build-up of fluid in your lungs, and even your ultimate demise.

Ingesting nitrogen can be fatal, as it may cause gastrointestinal injury, in-fact, immediate surgical intervention is critical to treat the pneumoperitoneum and locate the perforation site (barotrauma). Furthermore, according to the Food and Drug Administration, although liquid nitrogen is non-toxic, liquid nitrogen could still possibly cause severe damage to skin and internal organs if mishandled or ingested because of the extremely low temperatures this liquid maintains.