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woelen
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This answer, however, is very specific for iron, it cannot explain the smell of copper, cerium, and some other metals. These metals have different
smells, so should their mode of operation also be different, when it comes to making smelly organics.
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stricnine
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I also can smell and taste iron, e.g. when polishing a rusted iron blade. After washing all the stuff (and even drying the blade), I can still smell
the iron if I get the blade close to my nose.
I am getting old. I used to push it aside with one hand... now I need both!
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12AX7
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Reminds me, I've noticed when using my hand-forged steel knife (made of automotive coil springs, probably 5160 (chrome steel)), I get a weird almost
skunky odor (probably thio-based, eh?) when cutting most fruits, in addition to the metallic odor of bare non-stainless steel.
Tim
[Edited on 10-19-2006 by 12AX7]
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kmno4
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It is interesting question: smell of iron. Whenever I work with Fe(II) salts - known odour..... . Human blood has also such smell, and because of
great molecular weight of hemoglobine, I think that it is not any vapours containing Fe. It seems to me thai it may be caused by "free radicals",
whatever it means  . Propably this smell exists only when Fe(II) oxidates
itself to Fe(III) <--- which is odourless (as they say - and it seems to be true to me). Water is also very important - dry salts propably do not
smell. And in the end - "skin oil" has nothing to it.
These are my considerations, they do not have to be true 
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unionised
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"And in the end - "skin oil" has nothing to it."
Sure about that?
"http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19225754.400-ancient-human-hunters-smelt-blood-on-the-breeze.html"
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zoomer
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And if evolution has enabled us to smell the iron in blood, and everyone recognizes the smell of iron as distinctive, why is the taste of
blood universally described as "coppery"? (While there is some copper in blood, it is orders of magnitude less than iron.)
Z
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DrP
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| Quote: | Originally posted by zoomer
And if evolution has enabled us to smell the iron in blood, and everyone recognizes the smell of iron as distinctive, why is the taste of
blood universally described as "coppery"? (While there is some copper in blood, it is orders of magnitude less than iron.)
Z |
I've seen it described more as 'metailic' in general rather than 'coppery'
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IPN
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This seems to be a more general answer to the question. 
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2006/October/25100601...
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Mr. Wizard
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The link would explain why iron seems to increase body odor.
Another metal that I can smell is Silver, or more precisely, dirty Silver, such as coins, electronics, or silverware. I'm sure it has something to do
with Sulfides on the surface of the metal. I can sniff a coin or wire, especially if it is in a container and tell if it's got a silver surface. No
big trick, for sure. Has anyone else noticed it?
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Jdurg
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DrP
| Quote: | Originally posted by zoomer
And if evolution has enabled us to smell the iron in blood, and everyone recognizes the smell of iron as distinctive, why is the taste of
blood universally described as "coppery"? (While there is some copper in blood, it is orders of magnitude less than iron.)
Z |
I've seen it described more as 'metailic' in general rather than 'coppery' |
You can say that again. 
I've always thought of the taste as quite rusty which is somewhat true.
\"A real fart is beefy, has a density greater than or equal to the air surrounding it, consists of the unmistakable scent of broccoli, and usually
requires wiping afterwards.\"
http://maddox.xmission.com. |
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unionised
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"It is not every project that can answer an everyday riddle like why do metals smell,’ said Andrea Dietrich, an environmental chemist and part of
the team at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, US. ‘The surprise is that the odor was associated with organic molecules and not inorganic metals,’ she
told Chemistry World."
I'm glad someone seems to have done essentially the experiment I proposed earlier in this thread. I don't understand why they are suprised that the
odourous material was organic most metal compunds are involatile. Still whatever suprises who, it's nice to hope that this might get used
diagnosticly.
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The_Davster
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Has anyone else noticed that some people smell distinctly metallic? This girl who sits next to me in one of my lectures has breath that reeks of
metal, like iron. The smell even leaves a metallic taste in your mouth it is so powerfull. It seems most similar to iron.
I wonder if it indicates some underlying medical condition or something.
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12AX7
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Could be. One day I noticed my friend had breath that smelled *exactly* like aluminum slag, which smells due to a combination of impurities such as
sulfides, phosphides, etc., hydrolyzed by moisture.
Tim
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Mr. Wizard
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12AX7, did your friend have some heavy duty garlic the day before? I've noticed certain combinations of food, such as garlic sauted shrimp, and wine,
seem to give people a toxic breath that defies description. The 'owner' of the toxic breath seems unaware that his breath could strip paint and
discolor the silverware 
Is this the phosphine breath you are talking about?
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Nerro
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mr. Wizard
12AX7, did your friend have some heavy duty garlic the day before? I've noticed certain combinations of food, such as garlic sauted shrimp, and wine,
seem to give people a toxic breath that defies description. The 'owner' of the toxic breath seems unaware that his breath could strip paint and
discolor the silverware
Is this the phosphine breath you are talking about? |
Which is why France ought to be bombed
Some people have acetone in their breath because they have [that illness when you can't eat sugar without injecting yourself with insulin all the
time...], might it be possible that some other defects cause one to exhale different metabolic products that have distinctly metallic smells? The
article mentions small organic molecules like aldehydes and ketones etc. During metabolism (both yours and that off the stuff that lives inside you)
these are often formed, perhaps they are the cause of the "metallic breath".
Alternatively maybe she just has a "diverse" diet like 12AX7 said.
I've also heard that people who have pneumonia have chlorine in their breath. Anyone ever smell that coming of their girlfriend?
#261501 +(11351)- [X]
the \"bishop\" came to our church today
he was a fucken impostor
never once moved diagonally
courtesy of bash
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unionised
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I think it's more likely that anyone breathing chlorine would get pneumonia.
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Nerro
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small quantities obviously (you funny funny little man...)
#261501 +(11351)- [X]
the \"bishop\" came to our church today
he was a fucken impostor
never once moved diagonally
courtesy of bash
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12AX7
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No idea what he ate earlier that day (or the day before).
Insulin is used for diabetes.
BTW, garlic pwns j00. 
Tim
Edit: WTF? The smileys disappeared from the "Post reply" or "edit" page (they're still on the quick reply window)!
[Edited on 11-7-2006 by 12AX7]
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Nerro
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We let the novices eat garlic during initiation (EAT! THE! FKN! GARLIC! NOWWWWW!
It's good for you, see, we're taking care of you. Why don't you thank us?)
And, yes, diabetes was the word I was looking for. Could it be possible that some type of bacteria in your mouth excrete "metallic smelling" organic
compounds?
#261501 +(11351)- [X]
the \"bishop\" came to our church today
he was a fucken impostor
never once moved diagonally
courtesy of bash
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chloric1
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| Quote: | Originally posted by The_Davster
Has anyone else noticed that some people smell distinctly metallic? This girl who sits next to me in one of my lectures has breath that reeks of
metal, like iron. The smell even leaves a metallic taste in your mouth it is so powerfull. It seems most similar to iron.
I wonder if it indicates some underlying medical condition or something. |
The iron smell could be caused by excess iron suppliments. Women are encouraged to dose up on iron during menstral cycles. She could be overdoing it
possibly damaging her liver???!!!
Fellow molecular manipulator
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DrP
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| Quote: | Originally posted by The_Davster
Has anyone else noticed that some people smell distinctly metallic? This girl who sits next to me in one of my lectures has breath that reeks of
metal, like iron. The smell even leaves a metallic taste in your mouth it is so powerfull. It seems most similar to iron.
I wonder if it indicates some underlying medical condition or something. |
Maybe she doesn't clean her teeth that often, or not very well. If she has slight gum disease then her gums could be bleeding slightly - thus the
iron smell?
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Mr. Wizard
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Most people with bleeding gums have periodontal disease or 'rotten gums', and their breath smells more like decaying meat than metal or iron. Various
amines, including putrescine and cadaverine contribute to the smell. The smell can come from trapped food and bacterial pockets beneath the gum line.
Metal doesn't have much to do with it. IMO
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Ozone
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Hello!
this just off-the-press:
Ritter, S. (2006). The Smell of Iron. C&E News, 84 (44), Oct. 30, pp. 12.
According to this, perspiration oxidizes Fe° to Fe 2+ which engages lipid peroxodation (probably via Fenton-type chemistry involving the OH radical).
The products of this are responsible for the smell, for example, 1-octen-3-one, or, from pickled iron, methylphosphine (which is a "garlicky" one, for
sure). The parent article is cited as:
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 7006.
A most timely topic, indeed!
O3
[Edited on 9-11-2006 by Ozone]
-Anyone who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
--Albert Einstein
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unionised
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Hardly hot off the press, It had made its way into new scientist magazine a week or so back.
Also, not a very timely topic as it has been going for ages.
Did you read the thread befor posting?
BTW, can anyone think of a plausible mechanism for the production of chlorine (even small ammounts) in the lungs?
I know that there's chloride there and that the immune system uses peroxy species as part of its arsenal, but I can't help thinking that any Cl2
produced would get trapped by all that organic stuff.
[Edited on 9-11-2006 by unionised]
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Ozone
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Whew, two weeks is not timely? Tough crowd, my apologies.
Yes, I did read the thread. The C&E news for that week arrived in my mail 4 days ago, where it sat until I could get to it. I thought there was
relevance since very similar articles were carried in two venues within one week of one another (same scientists).
Anyway, I have the real article if you or anyone else is interested.
O3 out
-Anyone who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
--Albert Einstein
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