What if the oxygen on Earth was pure?

Oxygen is an essential part of life for all living things on Earth. The oxygen content on Earth is maintained at 20.9% and is on a downward trend at a rate of 0.7% over the past 800,000 years. A very slow pace and doesn’t seem to be a concern right. So what if the oxygen concentration in the Earth changes suddenly, such as increasing to 100%?

Since when did oxygen exist on Earth?

In the beginning, there was no oxygen on Earth, but it was not until the “Great Oxidation Event” happened that oxygen was formed. The group of organisms believed to have caused the jump in the oxygen content of the Earth at that time were the cyanobacteria).. Only then did multicellular animals have a chance to form. Since then, the oxygen concentration has gradually decreased until now. Therefore, humans and other species on Earth today have evolved to adapt to the current 20.9% oxygen content.

If the oxygen content suddenly increases to 100%, all human activities will increase many times. The human respiratory system will benefit first. Because many cases of using pure oxygen to breathe bring a feeling of comfort, ruddy skin, mental euphoria, relief of symptoms of dizziness, headaches, a healthier body ….The amount of oxygen in the blood , in the muscle bundles and the energy pumped into your brain will increase many times, breaking almost all physical records such as athletics, etc.; Concentration, work efficiency increased outstandingly.

The harmful effects

However, pure oxygen is only good when used for a short time, and in the long run will be scary harm. First, the free oxygen radicals present in high concentrations of oxygen cause damage to cell membranes and mitochondria, many enzymes in the protoplasm are inhibited, leading to cell damage and accelerating the aging process. than. Too much oxygen will inhibit respiratory centers in the medulla oblongata and brain, causing respiratory arrest and death.

Besides, oxygen is also the main factor that causes fires. Therefore, too high oxygen content will increase the number and intensity of fires, threatening the entire habitat on Earth.

Oxygen is the main cause of fires.

Insects, which absorb oxygen through the network of tracheal tubes, will grow to considerable size. Increased oxygen content means that the amount of oxygen passing through the tracheal tubes increases, helping the body to grow in size. The basis for this statement is that more than 300 million years ago, when the oxygen content was up to 35%, insects had grown to giant sizes and dominated invertebrates at this time. at that time. It’s like a centipede on your floor used to be 2.5m long.