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smoke
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Smoke from Central American forest fires drifting over North America, as measured by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on May 22, 1998.NASA's Earth Probe Mission satellite can detect smoke in the atmosphere and is thus able to monitor large fires from space. Aboard the satellite, TOMS measures aerosols, enabling scientists to create maps of the smoke's density. Smoke over Indonesia on September 24, 1997.Hundreds of fires set by loggers, farmers, and plantation owners burned on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Smoke from fires set on the island of New Guinea is also visible. Smoke over South America on March 27, 1998.In South America fires burned out of control in the state of Roraima, Brazil, as well as in Colombia and Venezuela.
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Smoke from Central American forest fires drifting over North America, as measured by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on May 22, 1998.NASA's Earth Probe Mission satellite can detect smoke in the atmosphere and is thus able to monitor large fires from space. Aboard the satellite, TOMS measures aerosols, enabling scientists to create maps of the smoke's density.
Smoke from Central American forest fires drifting over North America, as measured by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on May 22, 1998.

NASA's Earth Probe Mission satellite can detect smoke in the atmosphere and is thus able to monitor large fires from space. Aboard the satellite, TOMS measures aerosols, enabling scientists to create maps of the smoke's density.

Smoke is the visible product of burning organic materials, consisting of small carbon particles suspended in a gas. It can also refer to a cloud of vapor or something that obscures.1

Combustion, the process that creates smoke, involves chemical reactions where substances react rapidly with an oxidant, usually oxygen, to produce heat and light. This process transforms solids and liquids into gases, contributing to their ease of combustion. For instance, burning hydrocarbons produces smoke, soot, and various gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen.23

The health consequences of smoke, particularly from tobacco, are significant. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds, many of which are toxic. Key components include nicotine, tar, and gases like carbon monoxide, which can displace oxygen in the blood and strain the cardiovascular system. Exposure to secondhand smoke also poses health risks to non-smokers, increasing their risk of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.4

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8 Britannica Sources
  1. smoke
  2. smoking - Lung disease
  3. combustion - Physical processes
  4. combustion - Special combustion reactions
  5. smoke
  6. stack gas
  7. combustion - Special aspects
  8. air gas

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