Dust... What would the world be like without it?

[shigajet 0]

As I'm sure all of you know, dust is everywhere. Whether it's common house dust or dirt blowing in the wind out in the park, dust is an annoyance to many, but perhaps there are some helpful qualities about.......so I'd like ask everyone about how dust plays an important role in our environment. Let the responses begin!

[salamangkero 0]

Well, for one, dust is composed of a lot of minute particles ranging from minerals, pulverized organic material, ashes, lint and fungal spores. As such, dust is a very important element of decay. It is one of the means for organic matter, which once lived, from dead fleas to dead cats, to undergo the process of putrefaction or, simply put, decay.

 

Not really that significant but if you're an necromancer, you'd better take care to shield those corpses from dust, otherwise, they might not be revive in the way you had in mind. Undead people, too, should be advised to wear dust-proof garments in order to prolong their lifetime (or death-time)

 

Fellow fans of the undead, death and decay should not be worried, though. As I said, dust is just one of the ways to start dead matter on its way to a healthy decay

 

It is interesting to note that Salem (Sabrina's black cat) had a most inexpensive past-time called lint-spotting. It's basically just watching the adventures of a dust particle as it floats in the air. I used to do that too, until I stepped into high school

[master_bacarra 0]

well for one the clouds you see up in the sky is made up of dust and water vapor. if we put it in an analogy, imagine a pot of boiling liquid. when the water evaporates, the vapor rises up to the air. if the lid is placed on, the vapor condenses on the top of the lid so when you open the lid, you see some droplets of water on the lid. that's how dust works... i mean clouds. the dust becomes the agent that collects water vapor and allows it to condense then later on, when the clouds can't handle all the vapor, it releases it in the form of the rain. so you might want to think twice before drinking that rain water or else. that same process goes with snow, only once up in the air, the freezing temperature allows the water vapor to instantly turn into ice.there's also what we call erosion where the soil or earth is blown by the wind. these minute particles of soil is dust. it could be helpful in a way like gradually changing a landscape over time, some may help in covering up dead creatures that lie on the ground to allow decay, just like what salamangkero had mentioned.that's grade school science for you.

[shigajet 0]

Interesting...I also found out recently that the water vapour and dust particles reflect the rays of the sun. At sunrise and at sunset, when the sun is below the horizon, the dust and water vapour molecules reflect the longer, red rays of light in such a way that we can see them for a longer time. The more dust particles in the air, the more colourful the sunrise or sunset.

Edited March 1, 2007 by shigajet (see edit history)

[hitmanblood 0]

Well I think that without dust there wouldn't have been our world at least in the way we know it. becaus there wouldn't be rain and snow. And many other things. Because rain falls to the ground because on the high altitudes water vapor is forming around nuclei that is dust particles and then fall to the ground.Also it affects our immune system as if person is growing in the completly clean enviroment that is dust free then it has high tendency to develop some osrt of alergies and maybe some even serious respiratory desies.

[Smack 0]

Well to just add to how it would suck if the world had no dust -Some dust is made from our dead skin, so if there was no dust, there would be no us!I for one, am pro-dust.

[QuickGreen 0]

Dang, I never knew dust is found everywhere like that ... I guess I should have paid more attention to my Biology teacher. All I know is that dust is the annoying little "particles" that get on my computer screen and tower that make it harder to see when I am playing Counter-Strike .

[Watermonkey 0]

One other thing you all might not know about dust, much of it is from outer space. That's right! Dust comes from many sources including extra-terrestrial! So the next time you taste a drop of rain, you might also be ingesting a little bit of some far away long ago exploded star. It's ok though, since we're composed of stardust anyway. Carry on...

[hitmanblood 0]

Well to just add to how it would suck if the world had no dust -
Some dust is made from our dead skin, so if there was no dust, there would be no us!

I for one, am pro-dust.

Nice example of deductive logic

Dang, I never knew dust is found everywhere like that ... I guess I should have paid more attention to my Biology teacher. All I know is that dust is the annoying little "particles" that get on my computer screen and tower that make it harder to see when I am playing Counter-Strike wink.gif .

You know you can buy something to clean your computer screen in the local store. And when I play counter strike I usually put a samll chew gum to mark the target.

One other thing you all might not know about dust, much of it is from outer space. That's right! Dust comes from many sources including extra-terrestrial! So the next time you taste a drop of rain, you might also be ingesting a little bit of some far away long ago exploded star. It's ok though, since we're composed of stardust anyway. Carry on...

Yeah that is true many tons that is metric tons or meteor dust falls on the earth each day. And it is meteor dust which in fact is the most and biggest portion of dust in our world. Because if you would check the original particles which are from the earths from the beggining are usually larger in frame if you look the quick sand which in fact includes the finest sand particles they are still larger then meteor dust. And also big portion of dust is comming from organic matter in fact like our skin as someone wrote.

[zak92 0]

Dust is not so necessary for our existence as far as i know but the fact is we are made out of clay and we cannot avoid dust as it is everywhere in space.

[sweet_princess 0]

Dust is not so necessary for our existence as far as i know but the fact is we are made out of clay and we cannot avoid dust as it is everywhere in space.

You said that we are made of clay...Thats what it said in the Qur'an 1400 years ago.

[Tetraca 0]

Dust, or humus as it is called, is one integral part in farmable soil. Without dust, weathering and erosion cannot make good quality soil with the help of other forces.

[mojoman 0]

I don't know how dust is useful to the world, but I hate it. It gives me allergies and my nose gets all clogged, which sucks lol