this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2023
255 points (82.9% liked)
science
14709 readers
634 users here now
just science related topics. please contribute
note: clickbait sources/headlines aren't liked generally. I've posted crap sources and later deleted or edit to improve after complaints. whoops, sry
Rule 1) Be kind.
lemmy.world rules: https://mastodon.world/about
I don't screen everything, lrn2scroll
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
N95 masks have an electrstatic layer that removes particles (such as viruses) that are much smaller than the mask pores. The size of the pores is almost immaterial at that scale.
Also, Covid is an aerosol virus, not droplets. The difference is that droplets are large enough to fall to the ground due to gravity, while aerosols linger in the air like smoke. The idea that it was droplets led to the idea of 6 foot social distancing, which would give the particles time to fall to the ground. But that doesn't work. You really need filtration, such as masks and/or HEPA filters. UVC light is also showing some promise for killing the virus in the air, but N95's are tried and true.