ahh Doug... I *knew* we could count on you!
Let's not ignore temperature: my farts are a good 20
degrees F above ambient (at present), and tend to rise before
mixing into the unfortunate nearby environs. And, just in case
you were wondering what the composition of a fart was:
The
major components of the flatus, which are odorless, by
percentage are:[4]
While I still refuse to believe the myths about igniting one's own
petard (by which extra lift is gained beyond the mere ejection at
high velocity?) I'd never researched it this far but anecdotally
assumed it was the "methane" presumed to be flammable, but if this
"recipe for a petard" is accurate, it seems more likely to be the
Hydrogen that one would get their "lift" from.
Your recent silence online lead me to believe you were already
"putt-putting" your way toward Alaska on your yearly loop! Or are
you posting from the road?
The only factoid in the Flatulence FAQ that really caught my eye was
that NZ's GDP is so highly based in agriculture that they have a
"Flat"ulence Tax to offset the Greenhouse gas emissions. And
complementary to this, it was interesting to note that the majority
of Bovine Methane emissions are NOT flatulence but rather
exhalations and gastric belching (how many stomachs do they have
again?)...
On the other hand, I do believe that methane production from
cellulose by anaerobic bacteria is a big deal, and I'm a little
surprised that the Bovine intestinal tract is not an obvious place
for this to occur already?
I'm presuming that Hydrogen production is a byproduct of the very
same bacterium? Or perhaps it is a different one. I suppose it is
also possible that "biogas" production en vitro suffers from the
difficulty of *containing* hydrogen and perhaps that direct,
immediate use of "biogas" benefits from high H concentrations with
the methane?
Too much to ponder on such a hot day!
Pull your own damned finger!
- Steve