alt Hacker NewsI fully support research like this, because it's always good to get proper data about phenomena. However, I can't help feeling that the results are unsurprising: how could you smell the scented candles if they weren't producing nanoparticles? Surely the existence or abundance of these nanoparticles was never in question?
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You don't smell particles, you smell volatile compounds, mostly organic, aka VOCs. These are in their gas phase.
This is true of anything that smells. Food, flowers, the forest, breath, body odor, rain on dry ground, your car...
Many ingredients used in modern perfumery (scenting your detergent is still perfumery) are novel compounds, like galaxolide, but traditionally and still often enough they are naturally-occurring chemicals, although still synthesized in a factory from petrochemicals a lot of the time.
Article seems to be about a chemical reaction of terpenes with ozone, and the result is particles. Terpenes are a specific but large class of aromachemical, both natural and artificial. There are many others.
Even products marketed as unscented tend to be scented, to mask off odors from their functional ingredients.
Just adding some context.
You can smell genuine, non-particulate gaseous molecules just fine. The issue is that there’s a large class of compounds that will form actual particles, and this phenomenon can be responsible for a surprisingly large fraction of smog.
Don't underestimate the amount of education needed for this opinion to be understood and enter conscious awareness.
The marketing ploy of an attractive woman breathing in those delicious scents counts for much more to the majority of the population.
Regulators need to crack down on this deception, it's the only proven way.
Read the abstract of the paper. They were demonstrating that combustionless scented products generate very similar levels and types (in chemical composition, size, etc) to scented candles, which they considered noteworthy because many assume the combustion-less products are safer for you (they do not claim to be studying, nor do they make any claims, about health impacts.)
> how could you smell the scented candles if they weren't producing nanoparticles?
By smelling a gas?
This was my initial thought too. Like if I grow a bunch of nice smelling flowers, and crack open a window during the spring. Am I worse or better off than purchasing a scented candle.
Should we as a species stop nice smelling things entirely.