Relative size of particles - photo

[Floradawg]

What are virii? Not in my dictionary. I do have respect for a PhD virologist but I can't figure out why he wouldn't know that viruses can survive outside their little pool of spittle. Doctors in the OR wear masks so their spittle doesn't fall into the patients' incisions. It wouldn't make sense for it to be to keep the bacteria/viruses from infecting the patient. Primarily because the bacteria and viruses wouldn't be stopped by the mask. Also because if the doctor were showing signs of a cold or other upper respiratory infections he would be at home. I stand by the assertion that if masks did any good we would be past this pandemic. Oh and also, the vast majority of the public DID take this situation seriously. Most of them did follow the recommendations from the CDC, NIH and others. Much of our population not following even basic guidelines? Listen to yourself. Are you serious?

Oh yeah, and over in Europe where they are presumably taking all this seriously and following all the recommendations, well they're doing great aren't they?

[schuylergrace]

I do have respect for a PhD virologist but I can't figure out why he wouldn't know that viruses can survive outside their little pool of spittle.

My brother does know that, as do I, and I tried to explain that even though there are viruses (my mistake for using the non-term "virii"--I'm an electrical engineer by trade, not a doctor or biologist) out there, you are rarely exposed to enough of them to make you sick, unless you come into contact with someone who has an active case of COVID, whether they know it or not. Again, it's a case not just of exposure, but also the amount of exposure that determines whether you are likely to become ill. Masks do cut exposure significantly, both by providing a physical barrier to slow the particles down, and by attracting those particles so they stay contained within the mask (either because they soak up the droplets or charged polypropylene electret fibers trap the particles using electrostatic or electrophoretic effects). Like anything else, masks are not perfect, but they do help. And as far as taking the pandemic seriously, there were protests against nearly every recommendation that came out of the CDC, and people still flocked to mass gatherings, like spring break and Sturgis. And worst of all, many of our "leaders" were calling the pandemic a "hoax" and advising their constituents not to follow control protocols and are still doing the same to this day. That said, I'm certain I haven't changed your mind about any of this, so I'll leave it at that and "agree to disagree."

In case anyone is interested, here's a microscopic journey into various mask materials I saw a while back and found very interesting:
https://www.nist.gov/feature-stories...der-microscope

[Floradawg]

I don't remember anyone calling the pandemic a hoax. I could've missed that but "many"? I don't know about that. The link you provided was somewhat interesting but the images didn't come up. I will visit the site and try to view them.

I was I guess a bit smarmy at times and I apologize for that. We will however continue to disagree but that's life. Don't get me started on religion.

Okay, I tried again and the images did appear. This really is pretty interesting. The structure of the different materials is pretty cool looking. I always had the idea that masks had some effect even though that didn't come across. Kind of like if someone is throwing rocks at you and you have some chicken wire in front of you. Some rocks are still going to hit you. One analogy I read was "like trying to stop a mosquito with a chain link fence". I kind of agree with that idea.