I’ve been thinking about this from time to time, but it’s about air. There seems to be a rule of three for survival: three weeks without food, three days without water, and three minutes without breathing. If it’s a matter of life and death in a short time, then the shorter it is, the more important it is. I think it’s amazing that this important air is abundant on Earth, and that anyone can breathe it at no cost.
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/chubu/feature/CO063076/20240518-OYTAT50011
Recently, it has been discovered that humans also absorb vitamins and minerals directly from the air. Especially vitamin A, vitamin B12, manganese, iodine, etc. We breathe in 9,000 liters of air a day. Minerals are absorbed through the nose, and vitamin B12 through the lungs. We also replenish ourselves with useful microorganisms from the air. Apparently the air in areas with lots of seaweed contains 11 times more iodine than other areas. Forest air seems to be rich in nutrients.
https://topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp/article/nazology/world/nazology-166262
We tend to think of air as equal to oxygen, but in fact about 80% of the air is nitrogen, and about 20% is oxygen. Although there is a lot of nitrogen, it seems that animals cannot directly use this nitrogen. Instead, symbiotic rhizobia in the roots of legumes chemically transform the nitrogen, enabling it to be recycled to other plants.
Also, it seems that when the oxygen concentration is high, there is also a lot of active oxygen that causes excessive oxidation, so more is not necessarily better. High-concentration oxygen below 60% can be used safely in medical applications, but at 100%, all the oxygen is taken in through the lungs, leaving the lungs with no air. If this happens, the lungs will not inflate and you will not be able to breathe. Nitrogen, an air component that is not absorbed, is apparently necessary to inflate the lungs.
https://sho-ac.jp/department/pulmonology/
Furthermore, air seems to contain many components, but the ratio of components in air must have some meaning. The atmosphere of the earth is amazing, since this important air is everywhere, there is no need for water or transportation routes such as electric wires, and anyone can breathe it. Air is amazing.
In Yamagata, there is a shrine called Air Shrine, where air is worshipped as a sacred object in gratitude for the blessings of air. Thank you.
