Why nitrogen, you ask? That question has an interesting answer.
Your lungs evolved to be excellent detectors of carbon dioxide, and it doesn’t take much of a concentration to force you to breathe.
However, your lungs don’t detect nitrogen at all. So you could start breathing pure nitrogen and notice nothing until oxygen deprivation put your lights went out in about 15 seconds.
Another good question is why we don’t use nitrogen asphyxiation for capital punishment? Nitrogen is readily available and solves the weird problem of shortage of lethal agents used in execution.
[ Why nitrogen, you ask? That question has an interesting answer.
Your lungs evolved to be excellent detectors of carbon dioxide, and it doesn’t take much of a concentration to force you to breathe.
However, your lungs don’t detect nitrogen at all. So you could start breathing pure nitrogen and notice nothing until oxygen deprivation put your lights went out in about 15 seconds.
Another good question is why we don’t use nitrogen asphyxiation for capital punishment? Nitrogen is readily available and solves the weird problem of shortage of lethal agents used in execution. ]
We must Ban DiNitrate Gas!