Abstract
Air is taken for granted. We can neither see it nor smell it, and tend to ignore it. But without it we would not be able to live. Not only we, humans, but also the majority of living organisms on this Earth depend on it. Only a small number of organisms can live without it, or rather they will be killed by air. These organisms are called “anaerobic,” whereas we are “aerobic.” When we say “air” in these sentences, we mean “oxygen.” Air is a mixture of nitrogen (N2, about 78%) and oxygen (O2, about 21%) plus minor components such as argon (Ar), carbon dioxide (CO2), and water vapor (H2O).
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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Ochiai, E. (2011). Air. In: Chemicals for Life and Living. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20273-5_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20273-5_2
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20272-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20273-5
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