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Fart lighting
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<h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <p>The composition of flatus varies dramatically among individuals. Flatulence produces a mixture of gases including <a href="/facts/Methane/kBHneYnh">methane</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> which burns in oxygen forming water and carbon dioxide often producing a blue <a href="/facts/Hue/9qufc1ap">hue</a> (<a href="/facts/Heat_of_combustion/HdQX0mPP">Δc<i>H</i></a> = −891 kJ/mol),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> as: </p> CH4(g) + 2 O2(g) → CO2(g) + 2 H2O(g) <p><a href="/facts/Hydrogen_sulfide/UbCqjMMk">Hydrogen sulfide</a> is also flammable (<a href="/facts/Heat_of_combustion/HdQX0mPP">Δc<i>H</i></a> = −519 kJ/mol),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> and burns to </p> 2 H2S(g) + 3 O2(g) → 2 SO2(g) + 2 H2O(g) <h3>Gas production</h3> <p>Some of the gases that cause flatulence, such as methane and hydrogen, are produced by <a href="/facts/Bacteria/wC8xSCsU">bacteria</a> which live in <a href="/facts/Symbiosis/MrBArRGa">symbiosis</a> within the <a href="/facts/Large_intestine/vQtlNBv9">large intestines</a> of humans and other <a href="/facts/Mammal/phSwTzBo">mammals</a>. The gases are created as a by-product of the bacteria's <a href="/facts/Digestion/sjUBmhBS">digestion</a> of food into relatively simpler substances.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> The oxygen and nitrogen component of flatus can be accounted for by <a href="/facts/Aerophagy/Mcw5yDPu">aerophagy</a> while the CO2 component results from the reaction of stomach acids (<a href="/facts/HCl/7Wzkhomd">HCl</a>) with alkaline pancreatic bile (<a href="/facts/Sodium_bicarbonate/S9oSol0R">NaHCO3</a>). </p><p>The odor associated with flatus is due to hydrogen sulfide, <a href="/facts/Skatole/ndGDpItB">skatole</a>, <a href="/facts/Indole/HT72P6e6">indole</a>, volatile amines, and <a href="/facts/Short-chain_fatty_acid/bgj2XGRf">short-chain fatty acids</a> also produced by the bacteria. These substances are detectable by olfactory neurons in concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion, hydrogen sulfide being the most detectable.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Human_gastrointestinal_microbiota/Xy1IWzSP">Human gastrointestinal microbiota</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Natural_gas/9MYQ7NAP">Natural gas</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fart lighting. <ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fart+lighting&search=Search">Videos of Fart Lighting on YouTube</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Dawson, Jim (1999). Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cultural History of the Fart. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 9781580080118. Retrieved 2007-10-07. <a href="9781580080118" target="_blank">9781580080118</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Weinberg, Martin S.; Williams, Colin J. (August 2005). "Fecal Matters: Habitus, Embodiments, and Deviance". Social Problems. 52 (3): 315–336. doi:10.1525/sp.2005.52.3.315. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Barnes, Steve (2007). "On YouTube, you too can be a star". Santa Cruz Live. Archived from the original on 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2007-10-07. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071109225545/http://www.santacruzlive.com/ex/content/view/5637/126/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20071109225545/http://www.santacruzlive.com/ex/content/view/5637/126/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Leary, Mark Richard (2004). The Curse of the Self: Self-Awareness, Egotism, and the Quality of Human Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195172423. Retrieved 2007-10-07. <a href="9780195172423" target="_blank">9780195172423</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Slaven, Neil (2003). Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa. Omnibus Press. p. 100. ISBN 0711994366. Retrieved 2007-10-07. <a href="0711994366" target="_blank">0711994366</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Zappa, Frank; Occhiogrosso, Peter (1999). The Real Frank Zappa Book. Simon and Schuster. p. 85. ISBN 9780671705725. Retrieved 2008-08-17. <a href="9780671705725" target="_blank">9780671705725</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Lisi, Brian (31 October 2016). "Patient burned by mid-surgery explosion when laser ignites fart". New York Daily News. Retrieved 1 November 2016. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/patient-burned-mid-surgery-explosion-laser-ignites-fart-article-1.2852543" target="_blank">http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/patient-burned-mid-surgery-explosion-laser-ignites-fart-article-1.2852543</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Ladas, Spiros D; Karamanolis, G; Ben-Soussan, E (2007). "Colonic gas explosion during therapeutic colonoscopy with electrocautery". World Journal of Gastroenterology. 13 (40): 5295–8. doi:10.3748/wjg.v13.i40.5295. PMC 4171316. PMID 17879396. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4171316" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4171316</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Van Ness, MM; Cattau, EL (April 1985). "Flatulence: pathophysiology and treatment". American Family Physician. 31 (4): 198–208. PMID 3984823. <a href="/wiki/American_Family_Physician" target="_blank">/wiki/American_Family_Physician</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Methane: Gas phase thermochemistry data". NIST Chemistry WebBook, SRD 69. <a href="https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=C74828&Mask=1#Thermo-Gas" target="_blank">https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgi?ID=C74828&Mask=1#Thermo-Gas</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Hydrogen sulfide[unreliable source?] <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081013120329/http://ull.chemistry.uakron.edu/erd/chemicals/6001/6578.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081013120329/http://ull.chemistry.uakron.edu/erd/chemicals/6001/6578.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Farts and Flatulence". h2g2. 16 April 2002.[unreliable source?] <a href="https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A673508" target="_blank">https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A673508</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Levitt M. D. and Bond J. H. (1978) in Intestinal Gas and Gastrointestinal Disease[verification needed] <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" target="_blank">/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>