Wonderful!  Thank you.  I have been puzzling over this for a year.  (I never
did understand partial pressures, moles, etc.   I do remember that PV=nRT,
however.)

Dave in KC
85 Westy
http://members.fortunecity.com/davebaker1

----- Original Message -----
From: Matthew Pollard <poll7356@UIDAHO.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: Cold weather camping, heating, etc.

> yep. CO on top, CO2 on bottom.
>
> air is:
> nitrogen: 78.08%  and weights 28.0134g/mol
> oxygen: 20.9476% and weights 31.99 g/mol
> Argon: 0.934% and weights 39.948 g/mol
> (and the rest is less than .001% each, neon, co2, he, kr, xe, ch4, h2)
> Density is 1.2250 at sea level and 25C
>
> Carbon-Monoxide weights 28.005 grams/mole and has a density of .301 at sea
> level at 25C
>
> So therefore, CO is "lighter" than air and will build from the top down
> and not the bottom up, like CO2.  BUT BARELY. Look at those masses, there
> is not much difference.
>
> But the masses are really close so things like air currents are pretty
> important here.  But not with CO2- that stuff is really heavy and you can
> "see" it hang out down low.
>
> Ok, back to my gasses (butyl mercaptan-- the same stuff that makes skunks
> smell great!)
> -Matthew
>
> Matthew Pollard          "Racing with the wind and flirting with death
> Dept. Of Chemistry        So have a cup of coffee and catch your breath"
> University of Idaho
> www.uidaho.edu/~poll7356
>