Is the contact time of air being exhaled underwater sufficient to remove COVID before it bubbles to the surface? My suspicion is that the answer to that question is no. You could be correct on all accounts. I'm just thinking very conservatively about the risks of intense exercise in close proximity to other persons.
I would honestly expect taht, given the size of the virus, which will be HUGE compared to the molecules of CO2, N2, H2O )vapor phase), and O2 we exhale, it may actually stay in the water for a VERY long time, if not forever. I've seen 120nm, which is probably a good number. The molecules of the components in air are going to be Angstroms in size, meaning 1/1000th as large. So that stuff will rise to the surface, while the virus stays submerged. I would expect it would "stick" to the water through van der waals forces, too. Think about it, the fear of it being airborn is that it is attached to droplets.
Is the contact time of air being exhaled underwater sufficient to remove COVID before it bubbles to the surface? My suspicion is that the answer to that question is no. You could be correct on all accounts. I'm just thinking very conservatively about the risks of intense exercise in close proximity to other persons.
I would honestly expect taht, given the size of the virus, which will be HUGE compared to the molecules of CO2, N2, H2O )vapor phase), and O2 we exhale, it may actually stay in the water for a VERY long time, if not forever. I've seen 120nm, which is probably a good number. The molecules of the components in air are going to be Angstroms in size, meaning 1/1000th as large. So that stuff will rise to the surface, while the virus stays submerged. I would expect it would "stick" to the water through van der waals forces, too. Think about it, the fear of it being airborn is that it is attached to droplets.
