Do We Breathe the Same Atoms as Shakespeare?

[shetland]

Hey everyone,

Currently reading a new book by Bill Bryson, "A short history of nearly everything".

Well, despite the title, clearly even a short history would be a very, very big book, still the read is quite addicting, and there are many scientific areas to which I was quite unfamiliar (Geophysics, Geology for example - Yellowstone is a big volcano!).

There was one instance in the book, that gave me considerable pause - the author "states" that each one of us has up to a billion atoms that were once other humans, those who lived long ago. A specific example used was Shakespeare.

At first glance, I thought, well, yeah, a billion atoms is an infinitesimal number that actually comprise us - and I'm assuming what they are referring to is oxygen/gas that people inhaled & exhaled.

The little know about how dynamic the atmosphere is, not only with oxygen, nitrogen, but even carbon particulates, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that very quickly these become homogeneously distributed throughout the biosphere.

I mentioned this little kernel to a friend, and they asked me if I was a member of a new religion! That this was time-worn cliche, not worthy of the effort to speak it.

The little googling I did, I came up with a book by Harlow Shapley, "Beyond the Observatory", which delineates the journeys of the inert gas argon. We take in like 3x10^19 atoms in every breath, and in one week these atoms are already distributed through the country. And so on...

Anyone have a little more ammunition, er, I mean info, that I might use to supplant my argument?

Shelley

 

[russ_watters]

Originally posted by shetland
The little googling I did...

What you found seems to me to be a pretty good start - and end - to your response. Your logic is impeccable and I suspect that your friend hasn't considered just how small a billion is compared with the size/number of atoms out there for us to interact with.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

One of my favorites from thermodynamics is that with every breath that you take, there is about a 100% chance that you will inhale at least one air molecule that was exhaled by Julius Caesar in his dying breath.

I also suspect that this calculation is somewhat oversimplified. The oceans, plants, rocks etc can trap atoms for a very long time and this is not accounted for in these problems. I don’t know if this becomes significant or not.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Originally posted by shetland
There was one instance in the book, that gave me considerable pause - the author "states" that each one of us has up to a billion atoms that were once other humans, those who lived long ago. A specific example used was Shakespeare.

Interesting that Shakespeare is used as an example of a notion he himself contemplated in Hamlet

Hamlet: (Examining Yorick's scull) Dost thou think Alexander lookt o' this fashion i' th'earth?

Horatio: E'en so.

Hamlet: And smelt so? Pah! [puts down the scull]

Horatio: E'en so my lord.

Hamlet: To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bung hole?

Horatio: 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.

Hamlet: No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead to it; as thus; Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is the earth; of Earth we make loam; and why of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away:
O, that the Earth that kept the world in awe
Should patch a wall t'expel the winter's flaw!

 

[the_truth]

I think this is true, though I have never personally done an experiment to find out the size of one of these so called 'atoms'. I tend to just take the word of scientists for the truth and assume pressure from th scientific community prevents incorrectness from becomming widely accepted.