After reading two old threads today (oxgen narcosis and wreck penetration )
that dealt with the subject of Oxygen Narcosis, I decided to do a little digging.
I vaguely recalled seeing this subject discussed before, and it was this statement by Mike Ferrara that provided me with the clue as to where:
Experiments showed that the potency of an anesthetic gas was tied to its solubility in an organic solvent (olive oil). Known as the Meyer-Overton Rule it predicts that the anesthetic potency (narcotic effect) of a gas is inversely proportionate to its lipid solubility.
Below is a list of common gasses and their solubilities from the most narcotic (xenon) to the least narcotic (helium).
Gas -------------Solubility Coefficient
I thought it interesting to note where CO2 ranked on this list. Kind of illustrates how dangerous a build up of CO2 could be on a dive doesnt it?
that dealt with the subject of Oxygen Narcosis, I decided to do a little digging.
I vaguely recalled seeing this subject discussed before, and it was this statement by Mike Ferrara that provided me with the clue as to where:
Experiments showed that the potency of an anesthetic gas was tied to its solubility in an organic solvent (olive oil). Known as the Meyer-Overton Rule it predicts that the anesthetic potency (narcotic effect) of a gas is inversely proportionate to its lipid solubility.
Below is a list of common gasses and their solubilities from the most narcotic (xenon) to the least narcotic (helium).
Gas -------------Solubility Coefficient
- Xenon -------------1.90
- Nitrous Oxide ------1.56
- Carbon Dioxide -----1.34
- Krypton ------------.44
- Argon --------------.15
- Oxygen ------------.11
- Nitrogen -----------.052
- Hydrogen ---------- .042
- Helium ------------- .015
I thought it interesting to note where CO2 ranked on this list. Kind of illustrates how dangerous a build up of CO2 could be on a dive doesnt it?
