New Delhi:
Oxygen is the lifeline of a human being. It is the main catalyst for intracellular energy that is necessary to sustain human life. We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. But have you ever thought that what would happen if the world lost the oxygen for just five seconds?
What would we do? Would we just hold our breath for five seconds? And what would happen to the atmosphere? How will the loss of oxygen affect the environment?
Okay! now take a deep breath to feel how satisfying it is before we tell you what would happen if the world lost oxygen for five seconds.
The oxygen we breathe to live roughly makes up 21 per cent of our atmosphere with the 78 per cent being nitrogen and one per cent carbon dioxide and other gases.
Although oxygen is not the most abundant gas in our atmosphere, it is the most important and not just for humans but for plants and other living beings as well.
Without oxygen, plants, animals, water and we humans wouldn’t be alive. Though five seconds looks a very short span of time and we all can easily hold our breath for that time. Many of us can even hold their breath for as long as 30-40 seconds. Some can even hold it for 1 minute as well.
But it is not the same case with everything else. In just five seconds without the oxygen, the world would look completely different. Without oxygen, our houses, dams, tall building and any structure made out of concrete would collapse instantly.
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Oxygen is also important for the concrete. It acts as a special binding agent to concrete. Without oxygen, concrete is nothing but dust.
The effect would be on humans too. If you are out in the sun, expect severe sunburn as the ozone layer that protects us from ultra-violate rays of the sun would vanish. The ozone layer is made of oxygen.
If the world lost its oxygen for five seconds, the earth would be an extremely dangerous place to live in. Due to the severe sunburn, our inner ear would explode. The air pressure on the earth would drop 21 per cent and our ears would not get enough time to settle.
Without oxygen, there would not any fire and the combustion process in our vehicles would stop. Every mode of transport except electric would fail instantly. Planes flying high in the sky would fall on earth and millions of cars running on petrol and diesel would stop on the roads.
The beautiful and blue sky would turn completely dark. In between all this, the earth’s crust, which is made up of 45 per cent oxygen, would completely crumble. It will crumble until nothing is left and send everyone on the planet into a free-fall.
Looks scary? Then start planting trees to maintain the oxygen level and help in curbing the rapidly increasing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. Now, take a deep breath of oxygen.
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