CrispyCritter
Guest
Why does O2 expidite nitrogen off-gassing? I understand how off-gassing works from a pressure gradient perspective, but I don't understand why O2 is more effective than air at equalizing nitrogen levels.
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Try googlng this for additional discussion: Gas Exchange, Partial Pressure Gradients, and the Oxygen Window, Johnny E. Brian, Jr.
This creates a bigger imbalance across the lung barrier, where the nitrogen in your body is greater than the nitrogen in your lung spaces. Those nitrogen amounts will always be compelled to 'balance'. Thus, nitrogen in your body will be drawn through the lung barrier to equalize with the nitrogen levels in your lungs.
How does the N2 "know" that it should equalize across the barrier?
This is exactly where I was getting confused. Why is the nitrogen compelled to balance? Does the N2 and O2 bond in some way that facilitates this? How does the N2 "know" that it should equalize across the barrier?