General Knowledge · 2
What is the only gas that does not have a smell?
Answer
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is odorless and constitutes about 78% of Earth's atmosphere. Many gases are either naturally odorless or appear so because our olfactory senses aren't sensitive to them. However, nitrogen is genuinely odorless—it does not interact with olfactory receptors in our nose. Interestingly, the 'rotten egg' smell associated with decay is actually hydrogen sulfide, not sulfur itself.
💡 Did you know?
Nitrogen makes up 78% of air but has no smell; it's inert and only reacts chemically at extremely high temperatures or pressures.
Other options people guess
- Chlorine
- Hydrogen sulfide
- Carbon dioxide
Topics
- chemistry
- atmosphere
- science
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