How many plants do you need to breathe? TESTED

Summary

Dans cette expérience audacieuse, l'animateur s'isole dans une pièce étanche simulant un vaisseau spatial, confronté à la faillite du soutien vital. Sa quête pour survivre repose sur la capacité des plantes à recycler le dioxyde de carbone en oxygène. D'abord avec des plantes ordinaires, puis en utilisant des algues dans un photo-bioreacteur, il cherche à prolonger la vie dans cet espace confiné. Après de multiples essais, il parvient à stabiliser les niveaux de CO2 grâce à un système d'algues massif, tout en cherchant à établir une équilibre pour une respiration durable.

Takeaways

• 🚀 L'expérience vise à déterminer si les plantes peuvent transformer suffisamment le dioxyde de carbone en oxygène pour maintenir la vie dans une pièce scellée.
• 🌿 La plante-serpent est censée être efficace pour produire de l'oxygène, mais l'expérience met en doute la suffisance de seulement six à huit d'entre elles pour survivre.
• 💭 L'idée de survie en utilisant des plantes dans une chambre scellée a été inspirée par le film 'Mission to Mars' et la situation de Don Cheadle.
• 🌍 La Terre est recouverte de plantes qui traitent l'air pour 8 milliards de personnes, mais la question est de savoir si un nombre suffisant de plantes pourrait le faire pour une personne seule.
• 🔬 L'expérience consiste à créer une chambre étanche et à mesurer le taux d'augmentation du CO2, d'abord sans plantes, puis avec différentes quantités de plantes.
• 🏠 L'expérience a été menée dans une 'salle d'espace' improvisée dans un sous-sol, en utilisant des matériaux de construction de film de science-fiction.
• 🌳 Les résultats des tests avec les plantes-serpents indiquaient une réduction minimale de la concentration de CO2, suggérant que davantage de plantes seraient nécessaires.
• 🍃 L'expérience a ensuite utilisé de l'algue, une forme de plante aquatique, qui a montré un potentiel plus élevé pour produire de l'oxygène en raison de sa croissance rapide et de sa reproduction.
• 💡 L'utilisation d'un photo-bioreacteur, un système qui utilise la lumière pour favoriser la croissance et la production d'oxygène par les algues, a été testée avec succès.
• 🔍 Les tests ont montré que l'augmentation de la concentration de CO2 ralentissait progressivement avec l'augmentation de la quantité d'algue, indiquant une meilleure efficacité à grande échelle.
• 🔄 L'expérience a abouti à une stabilité des niveaux de CO2 grâce à l'utilisation d'une grande quantité d'algue, bien que la stabilité ait été précaire et que la concentration ait légèrement augmenté avec le temps.

Q & A

Le scénario présenté dans le script est-il basé sur une situation réelle ou fictive ?

Le scénario est fictif, bien que l'expérience décrite dans le script soit basée sur des concepts scientifiques réels concernant la production d'oxygène par les plantes et les algues.

Quel est le but principal de l'expérience décrite dans le script ?

Le but principal de l'expérience est de déterminer si les plantes peuvent suffire à maintenir un niveau d'oxygène respirable dans une pièce scellée, en transformant le dioxyde de carbone en oxygène.

Quelle plante a été mentionnée dans le script comme étant efficace pour produire de l'oxygène dans une pièce scellée ?

Le script mentionne le 'snake plant' (dracaena) comme une plante efficace pour produire de l'oxygène dans une pièce scellée.

Combien de temps le narrateur a-t-il passé dans la pièce scellée sans plantes pour établir une base de référence ?

Le narrateur a passé environ 30 minutes dans la pièce scellée sans plantes pour établir une base de référence.

Quel est le niveau de CO2 considéré comme sûr dans l'air extérieur ?

Le niveau de CO2 considéré comme sûr dans l'air extérieur est d'environ 400 parties par million (ppm).

Quel est le niveau de CO2 dangereux pour la santé humaine ?

Les niveaux de CO2 supérieurs à 5 000 ppm sont considérés comme dangereux pour la santé humaine, car ils peuvent entraîner des symptômes tels que des maux de tête, de la fatigue, une perte de concentration et une augmentation de la fréquence cardiaque.

Quelle est la différence entre les plantes terrestres et les algues dans la production d'oxygène ?

Les algues, comme la chlorelle vulgaris mentionnée dans le script, sont des organismes à cellules simples qui se reproduisent rapidement, capables de produire de l'oxygène plus efficacement et plus rapidement que les plantes terrestres à structure complexe.

Quel est le nom scientifique de l'appareil utilisé pour cultiver les algues et produire de l'oxygène ?

L'appareil utilisé pour cultiver les algues et produire de l'oxygène est appelé un photo-bioreacteur.

Quelle a été la durée la plus longue que le narrateur a réussi à rester dans la pièce scellée avec les algues sans atteindre un niveau de CO2 dangereux ?

Avec les algues, le narrateur a réussi à rester dans la pièce scellée pendant 55 minutes avant d'atteindre 2 000 ppm de CO2.

Quel était le but de l'expérience finale décrite dans le script ?

Le but de l'expérience finale était de vérifier si le niveau de CO2 pourrait rester stable ou diminuer avec un grand volume d'algues, en dépassant intentionnellement le niveau de CO2 et en observant les changements随后。

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Survivre dans un espace simulé avec des plantes

Le script décrit une expérience de survie simulée dans un espace où le système de soutien vital a échoué. L'idée est de tester si des plantes peuvent transformer le dioxyde de carbone (CO2) en oxygène. L'expérience est inspirée par un post sur les réseaux sociaux affirmant que six à huit serpents d'Alger suffiraient pour survivre dans une pièce scellée. L'expérience va être menée dans une 'basement' transformé en espace pour évaluer si la théorie est vraie et déterminer combien de plantes sont nécessaires pour maintenir un niveau d'oxygène viable.

05:02

🌿 Test des plantes serpents pour la production d'oxygène

Dans ce paragraphe, l'expérience commence avec l'achat de plantes serpents d'Alger et la mise en place d'un test scientifique dans une pièce scellée. L'objectif est de vérifier la validité de l'affirmation selon laquelle six à huit de ces plantes sont suffisantes pour survivre sans ventilation. Les résultats montrent que même avec six plantes, le niveau de CO2 augmente rapidement, ce qui indique que le nombre de plantes est insuffisant pour maintenir une qualité d'air viable.

10:03

🔬 Échec des plantes serpents et introduction d'une alternative

Après avoir constaté que les plantes serpents d'Alger ne sont pas suffisantes pour réduire significativement les niveaux de CO2, le script introduit une alternative : l'algue Chlorella vulgaris. Cette algue est capable de produire de l'oxygène beaucoup plus rapidement et efficacement que les plantes terrestres, ce qui la rend potentiellement plus utile pour la survie dans un environnement scellé.

15:03

🌱 Développement d'un photo-bioreacteur avec de l'algue

Le script détaille le développement d'un photo-bioreacteur, un système qui utilise de l'algue pour convertir du CO2 en oxygène. L'expérience montre que même avec un photo-bioreacteur à petite échelle, les résultats sont décevants, avec une augmentation continue de CO2. L'auteur envisage d'augmenter la taille et la capacité du photo-bioreacteur pour améliorer les résultats.

20:03

🛠️ Amélioration du système de photo-bioreacteur avec plus d'algue

Dans ce paragraphe, l'auteur élargit considérablement la taille de son photo-bioreacteur en utilisant des barils de 55 gallons et en améliorant l'éclairage pour une meilleure production d'oxygène par l'algue. Les tests montrent une réduction de l'augmentation de CO2, indiquant que le système est plus efficace que les plantes terrestres.

25:04

🔭 Tests intensifs avec un photo-bioreacteur à grande échelle

L'auteur décrit des tests plus poussés avec un photo-bioreacteur à grande échelle, qui inclut l'utilisation d'un CO2 supplémentaire pour accélérer le processus. Les résultats montrent une stabilité des niveaux de CO2, ce qui suggère que le système de photo-bioreacteur peut potentiellement maintenir un équilibre entre la production d'oxygène et la production de CO2.

🏁 Vers la stabilité des niveaux de CO2 et d'oxygène

Le script conclut avec l'auteur qui envisage de passer une journée entière dans la pièce scellée pour tester la stabilité du système sur une longue période. Il reconnaît que, bien que les niveaux de CO2 semblent stables, il n'a pas encore mesuré les niveaux d'oxygène et qu'il faudra peut-être augmenter la taille du système pour assurer une survie durable.

Keywords

💡espace

L'espace est un thème central de cette vidéo, qui explore l'idée de survie dans un environnement extraterrestre en utilisant des plantes pour régénérer l'oxygène. Dans le script, l'espace est mentionné comme le contexte de survie de l'astronaute Don Cheel dans 'Mission to Mars', et comme le lieu hypothétique d'une future humanisation avec la nécessité de plants pour la respiration.

💡oxygène

L'oxygène est essentiel pour la respiration humaine et est le principal composant gazeux que les plantes transforment à partir du dioxyde de carbone (CO2). Dans le script, la production d'oxygène par les plantes est la solution proposée pour survivre dans un espace confiné sans air extérieur.

💡dioxyde de carbone

Le dioxyde de carbone est un gaz produit par la respiration humaine et qui, en excès, peut être toxique. Dans le script, il est décrit comment le CO2 est transformé en oxygène par les plantes, un processus vital pour la survie dans un espace clos.

💡plantes

Les plantes sont les héros de cette vidéo, capables de réaliser la photosynthèse et de transformer le CO2 en oxygène. Le script explore différentes plantes, comme le 'snake plant', et des algues comme la chlorella vulgaris, pour leur capacité à maintenir un niveau d'oxygène viable dans un environnement fermé.

💡photosynthèse

La photosynthèse est le processus par lequel les plantes convertissent le CO2 et l'eau en oxygène et en glucides à l'aide de la lumière solaire. Dans le script, la photosynthèse est la clé de la survie dans un espace clos, permettant aux plantes de produire de l'oxygène à partir du CO2 exhalé par l'homme.

💡réacteur photobiologique

Un réacteur photobiologique est un système conçu pour maximiser la production d'oxygène par des algues à travers la photosynthèse. Dans le script, le concept de réacteur photobiologique est utilisé pour créer un environnement où les algues peuvent produire suffisamment d'oxygène pour soutenir la vie humaine.

💡chlorella vulgaris

La chlorella vulgaris est une algue verte utilisée dans la vidéo pour son efficacité dans la production d'oxygène. Dans le script, elle est présentée comme une alternative plus efficace aux plantes terrestres pour maintenir un niveau d'oxygène stable dans un espace clos.

💡tests

Les tests sont au cœur de l'expérimentation décrite dans le script, où différentes quantités de plantes et de réacteurs photobiologiques sont utilisées pour déterminer leur capacité à maintenir un niveau d'oxygène et de CO2 sûr pour la respiration humaine.

💡équilibre gazeux

L'équilibre gazeux fait référence à la stabilité des niveaux d'oxygène et de CO2 dans un environnement fermé. Dans le script, l'objectif est de trouver un équilibre où les plantes et les algues produisent suffisamment d'oxygène pour compenser le CO2 produit par la respiration humaine.

💡hypoxie

L'hypoxie est un état où le corps n'a pas suffisamment d'oxygène. Dans le script, l'auteur mentionne les symptômes de l'hypoxie comme des indicateurs de danger qu'il surveille pendant ses tests dans le but de maintenir un environnement sûr.

💡aéroculture

L'aéroculture est une méthode de culture des plantes qui implique de cultiver les plantes dans l'air, sans sol, en utilisant des aérosols de nutriments. Dans le script, l'auteur utilise cette technique pour cultiver des algues dans des réacteurs photobiologiques.

Highlights

L'idée d'un test de survie dans une pièce scellée avec des plantes pour recycler l'oxygène à partir de dioxyde de carbone (CO2).

L'influence du film 'Mission to Mars' qui a suscité l'intérêt pour la question de la production d'oxygène à partir de plantes.

Le défi de déterminer le nombre de plantes nécessaires pour maintenir un niveau d'oxygène viable dans une pièce scellée.

L'idée de créer un espace similaire à l'espace dans une cave pour mener les tests.

La construction d'un compartiment étanche à l'aide de panneaux de construction et de ruban adhésif Gorilla Tape.

L'utilisation de plantes de serpent pour tester la théorie d'une production d'oxygène suffisante en une pièce scellée.

L'évaluation de la validité d'une affirmation de médias sociaux sur la capacité des plantes de serpent à produire de l'oxygène.

L'observation que même avec un nombre élevé de plantes de serpent, la concentration de CO2 ne diminue pas significativement.

La découverte que les plantes terrestres nécessitent beaucoup de surface pour produire de l'oxygène efficacement.

Le recours à l'algue Chlorella vulgaris comme une alternative plus efficace pour la production d'oxygène.

La conception et la construction d'un photo-bioreacteur pour cultiver l'algue et produire de l'oxygène.

L'expérimentation avec différents volumes d'algue pour voir l'effet sur la concentration de CO2.

L'amélioration continue du système de photo-bioreacteur pour augmenter la production d'oxygène.

La réalisation que la production d'oxygène par les algues peut être suffisante pour prolonger la durée de survie dans une pièce scellée.

L'ajout de pompes d'air supplémentaires et de réacteurs d'algue pour maximiser l'efficacité de la production d'oxygène.

L'observation que la concentration de CO2 peut rester stable avec un certain équilibre entre production d'oxygène et consommation de CO2.

La nécessité de mesurer les niveaux d'oxygène pour valider la théorie de la production d'oxygène par les algues.

La préparation d'un test final consistant à passer une journée entière dans la pièce scellée avec les réacteurs d'algue.

Transcripts

picture this you're trapped inside of a

spaceship and life support has failed in

just a few minutes you're going to run

out of air obviously you can't open the

door so you open your emergency Air

Supply instead but you're only delaying

the inevitable if only there was a way

to transform your toxic carbon dioxide

breath back into lifegiving oxygen then

you hear

it plants is it really that simple

though the Earth is covered with plants

and they process the air for 8 billion

people but for just one person in a

sealed room how many plants would they

need that's what I'm going to find out

and even though our story ends in

pretend space it All Began on the real

toilet scrolling through social media I

Came Upon a post that said the snake

plant is so effective at producing

oxygen that if you were in a sealed room

with no air flow you would only need six

to eight of them to survive and that's

according to n

now I've personally thought about this

problem ever since I saw Mission to Mars

back in the year 2000 when I was 10 you

see space hipster Don cheel was getting

stranded on Mars way before Matt Damon

ever made it cool and the only reason

Don was able to survive was because it

works you know I I give them CO2 and

light and they give me oxygen and food

but even though this scenario has been

randomly popping into my head for the

last 25 years for most other people the

conversation went like this have you

ever wondered how many PL that you would

need to

breathe no so if you're wondering why

you should care about this question

let's get some perspective people can

survive some truly harsh places Siberia

the

Sahara Cleveland but all of those places

have actual breathable air we take for

granted that right now we can breathe

everywhere we go on Earth but last I

checked we haven't discovered any plants

in space not to mention we have cut down

quite a few of them here who knows in

the future knowing the number of plants

that you need to survive could become

something that you reference every day

leaving the house wallet keys phone

plants but do you need a green house or

just a green backpack could scuba divers

carry a succulent should astronauts just

sniff a ficus it's a fascinating

question and I can't wait to find out

but we can't go to outer space to do it

so we're just going to have to bring

outer space to my inner basement now

there weren't any used space capsules

for sale on Market place so I'm going to

make my own and all we really need to do

is create an airtight box one that we

can open and close with just enough room

for me and some plants but not so much

room that it takes forever to run out of

air once inside I'll just breathe and as

my breath turns oxygen into carbon

dioxide I will monitor that CO2 level

and use a stopwatch to time how long it

takes to reach an unsafe level then I'll

do the same thing but with different

amounts of plants and compare the times

my first objective is to see if this

post about the snake plants is true or

false but either way my final objective

is to find a way to stay in that room

and never run out of air using just

plants so I guess I better build it and

this is where things get pretty cool and

really convenient you see a few years

ago I built a science fiction movie set

out of fular board and for some reason

I've kept it in storage all this time so

not only do I not need to buy these now

much more expensive material

but I also don't need to paint them

because they already look like an old

spaceship we'll tape up the seams we'll

fill that stupid Gap we'll get the TV

screen there I'm building a real

spaceship I mean it's not real but it's

it's real for our purposes I'm going to

be able to seal this thing up and then

I'm going to be able to time how long

does it take to saturate it with carbon

dioxide and then when we have plants in

here how much of an effect will it

actually have this is really exciting

oh I like it I like it a lot so my

brother who has built actual houses

seemed to kind of approve of the concept

and with a massive TV that I repaired a

while back I now had a window into space

but this airtight room needs to be

airtight meaning every little Gap and

crack needs to be covered and that's

where the Gorilla Tape comes in the only

way this works is if we seal up every

crack this thing has to be at least

99% I have a feeling I'm going to go

through a lot of tape now in the places

that needed to stay clear I used heat

shrinking window we weatherproofing

plastic that includes the light fixtures

in the walls my pretend window and my

actual window SL emergency exit I think

I'm just going to go ahead and seal up

the rest of it and we'll see how long it

takes to become a truly toxic work

environment the Final Touch is a

resealable door that has to be taped

shut each time and as a quick test I

decided to fill the room with fog and

then look for fog leaking on the outside

not seeing any leaking out oh damn

that's fancy and after a bit of ing

around it was finally time for us to

establish a

baseline good thing the smoke alarms

work all right bro you ready for test

one test one I've got my stopwatch I got

my pul socks I got my emergency uh stop

button which is this so yeah a baseline

test basically means just sitting and

waiting under the watchful eye of my

brother Charles you going to keep me

alive it's day one we're on the surface

of Mars and I am waiting for my imminent

Doom we're going to wait till we get to

about 5,000 parts per million of CO2 and

then I think I'm going to call it quits

this test will tell us how long I can

stay in the room with no plants and

somewhat limited Avenues of

entertainment and the barrel is just a

physical placeholder so that when we

bring the plants in we'll still be

starting with a similar volume of air

and as CO2 level steadily Rose I found

myself waxing eloquent optimism is the

lifeblood of a spacecraft without

optimism you would

die and O oxygen is also important now

what do these numbers actually mean well

the air outside usually sits at around

400 parts per million that means that

for every million bits of air 400 of

them are CO2 or about

.4% to contrast the air that you breathe

out sits at around 38,000 parts per

million now above 2,000 parts per

million is where things start to get

really spicy these levels are associated

with headaches fatigue loss of Focus

nausea increased heart rate and they're

often an indicator that there's less

oxygen in your home because you're

probably just breathing the same exhale

breath over and over again now OSHA's

personal exposure limit is 5,000 parts

per million anything above that and

you're basically just slowly dying but

back up on Mars it was taking a long

time to actually get to 5,000 then I

realized yeah why do I need to go to

5,000 I could just go to 2,000 right you

see I really just needed something to

aim at this was taking longer than I

thought and conveniently I was about to

hit 2,000 right at 30

minutes smells like wrong dog in here

all right I'm going to eat lunch say the

word so where do you get a bunch of

snake plants well your local orange Home

Improvement store has them for about 25

bucks each but that would be $200 for

eight what if I need more but what am I

going to do it's not like I'm going to

just stumble upon a bunch of cheap snake

plants from some random dude on

Marketplace

[Music]

so the random dude on Marketplace was

named Charles and after showing me his

home ecosystem and after paying him a

mere $70 I now had a lot of snake plants

and since the social media post says as

few as six snake plants that's what I

decided to start with the bare minimum

bro you ready for this very scientific

test lock you in a box there we got a

bunch of plants going on lights going on

a box it's got a window cut into the box

yes well it's it's a very scientific box

so the post said 6 to8 snake plants in a

sealed room I figured it would make

sense to test the minimum six right

because any random person reading that

is going to go huh why' you put six

snake plants in a room I'll be fine all

right door's closed starting timer we

are starting with a base reading of 836

parts per million well last time I was

at 670 but we've got we've got six snake

plants there's no that these snake

plants won't be able to offset that

extra amount the the post said this

would work and of course we all know the

post never lies test number two almost

15 minutes CO2 M freaking out I forgot

to turn off the alarm there we go if

it's not beeping it's not a problem so

the first test started at 670 and then

hit 2,000 parts per million at 30

minutes giving us a CO2 saturation rate

of 44.4 parts per million per minute or

ppmm which is why it was surprising that

even with the six plants CO2 was still

climbing pretty darn quick I just

thought of like a question that I didn't

really

ask what do I do if I have to poop we're

at 30 minutes and we're at

2120 pretty much a wash from the first

test six snake

plants you're going to die that's right

our PPM PM went from 44.4 to 42.8

meaning at most we had like 4% reduction

in CO2 but I'm willing to bet that our

margin of error is at least 5% so best

to get more green give it another try

side note I am going to be at Open sauce

the weekend of June 14th a place where

all your wildest dreams come true in so

much as they conform to their scheduled

offerings but I am seriously excited and

you should definitely check out the

website and get some tickets I'd love to

see you there and I even have one ticket

to give away so leave me a comment let

me know what funny thing would you say

if you saw me in the crowd and maybe

you'll get a chance to say it for real

what are your predictions I don't think

that 12 snake plants would be

like enough you saw the post it said 6

to eight snake plants and yet somehow

with now 12 snake plants double the

minimum and 50% more than their claimed

Max our CO2 saturation rate looked

eerily familiar it's full of snake

plants how can it still be basically the

same rate we know that there's going to

be little variances here and there my

metabolic rate in the actual volume of

stuff taking up plate space in the room

right but the point is that like if

these things would make you live

according to that post with six well

then double that should easily easily

make up for any variances or at the very

least make a dent and I could fit like

you know maybe six more snake plants but

we already know that adding another 30%

of no appreciable difference is is 30%

of nothing and think about it this is

like who has this many house plants and

it's not even enough to make a

measurable difference in your own CO2

output isn't that crazy a person with

what most would consider a lot of house

plants isn't even making the dent we're

going to have to seriously re-evaluate

just what I'm doing here because I want

to be trapped in this room with plants

and I want them to keep me alive but

they're letting me down that post let me

down this is not looking good so what do

you do when regular Plants just aren't

going to cut it well here's where I may

have misled you just a little bit not

about plants we're still going to do

this with plants but I kind of already

knew that snake plants weren't going to

be enough you see I try and do a little

research before I do a project and I

quickly found that you need like a lot

of plants to make this work which is why

in the background I've secretly been

preparing a plan B that fits neatly into

this little vial chlorella vulgaris a

plant that we've actually already

started experimenting with in space to

the average person this is just algae

the green goo that grows in water it's

still a plant but with some very very

special attributes you see land plants

like the snake plant have a variety of

complex structures leaves roots stems

and on the resource balance sheet

specialized Parts just require more cost

and means they take longer to grow and

they only really produce oxygen when

they're growing algae like chlorella

they're just like cells they're like the

bacteria version of plants just

reproducing over and over again meaning

they can produce way more oxygen way

quicker and with way less space but not

everyone was impressed by the idea or at

least not impressed by my first small

growing

chamber you're just like blowing bubbles

into a piss bottle when I came down here

I was expecting to see like multiple

fish tanks but there's just this one

little bucket with a fish bottle in it

that's all you have

yes you're going to be you're going to

die it's not even green it's just like

that's after like a week of growth yes

one week gave me this yellowed bottle

and then I transferred that bottle to an

even bigger bottle and after another

week that bottle had turned into this

bottle that is green which quickly

became these bottles and were

transferred to these

bottles satisfying isn't

[Applause]

it these five 2 L bottles in a 5G bucket

were my first prototype for a portable

photo bioreactor now what is a photo

bioreactor well it's a fancy word for

something really simple photo refers to

light bio refers to life and reactor

while the life reacts to the light to

convert CO2 to oxygen as it grows and we

maximize the CO2 that the life is

exposed to by pumping air into the

bottoms of the bottles but just how

powerful is this little glowing bucket

well there is a consumer product called

the Arium which is basically a photo

bioreactor marketed to the average Joe

with a tank that appears to be around

the size of one 2 L bottle they say that

their reactor has the power of 25 plants

and that's using less efficient

spirulina algae so under optimal

conditions this little bucket could

theoretically be more effective than

125 plants but will that be enough it's

time to go back to space and find out

close me in brother all right the door

is closed test number four our number

one algae test running the algae

generator 1000 this is Uncharted

Territory for me but I'm excited I got

algae in a bucket Mission Log day four I

can either look out this lovely window

right here or I can look out this one

guess this window right here is quite

lovely all jokes aside and as I slowly

dissociated beyond the surface of Mars I

reflected on just how far I had come

that is until I noticed a malfunction

one of my pumps ain't pumping we're only

operating at 80% for this first test

that's just the way it's going to be not

a big deal um you know that we're doing

multiple tests but even with our 80% or

100 plant power the CO2 still steadily

Rose in a surprisingly familiar fashion

we're approaching 2,000 parts per

million and we're approaching 30

minutes dang

it yesterday we tested with just four of

the tanks bubbling didn't really notice

a difference I thought wow this reactor

should really be like multiple times

stronger than the plants well this time

I've taken the a

little

um that so back before I multiplied my

first 2 L bottle I began growing a

separate batch using 4 gallon bottles

this was a bit of an experiment since my

2 L bottles started with completely pure

distilled water and these would use the

regular bottled water that they came

with from the store I did aate them

ahead of time to try and ensure that any

potential chlorine or chloramine was

fully evaporated and then I meticulously

prepped the water with baking soda

minerals and plant food the same thing I

had done with all the algae water up to

this point I then evenly distributed the

algae and kept this batch running in the

background in case something happened to

the primary batch or just in case I

needed more and it was pretty clear by

test 5 that I needed more here are our

five 4G tanks got a lot of light light

shining right now got a little fan

helping to circulate that I got a fan

here helping to circulate little fan

here pulling air through these holes

even though yesterday the small photo

bioreactor was only running at 80%

capacity it still didn't show anything

so I didn't want to do a test right just

ran it at 100% capacity just to show

that it still didn't really do anything

appreciable so that's why right now

we're running both systems if this ends

up being more than enough then I'll just

back it off and find out exactly how

much I need but it quickly became clear

that backing off wouldn't be our problem

seems like we're on track to have about

the same result I just want to get to a

point where at the very least there's a

measurable amount like instead of being

only a half an hour in this room before

reaching 2,000 it's 40 minutes that

would blow my mind and of course this

isn't a laboratory I mean I'm a guy in

my basement but I want to demonstrate

that it's possible that it's doable and

just about how much that would

take okay I think something might be

happening everything seemed on track but

now we're at 27 1/2 minutes and we're

only at

1730 no I mean the plants run on co2 so

as the CO2 concentration increases in

the room maybe they become more

efficient they start growing faster I

ended that test with

41.6 PPM PM the lowest ever and when I

ran the same test again the next day 30

minutes and we're at 1805 that's pretty

good I'll check in when we hit 2,000 all

right 2,000 at 35 minutes and 50 seconds

we were definitely in a downward Trend

and this test had averaged an even lower

39.1 PPM PM but these results could

still possibly be within my margin of

error how could I possibly know without

doing way more tests or growing way more

algae so remember when I said that I had

the second system growing in the

background well it wasn't the only other

system that I had growing okay so in my

reading I saw that the Russians had done

something similar to this in the 1970s

and it required like a lot of algae so I

decided to grow a lot of algae and to

try and be smart about it giant clear

containers aren't easy to find or cheap

but these 55g food grade barrels were

less than $10 each yeah that actually

just smells like a like a light kombucha

yeah exactly now algae needs a lot of

light distributed as evenly as possible

but these opaque sides rule out an

external light source and the only

immersive algae light that I could find

was

$22,000 so I decided to design my own

with some Amazon grow lights clear heat

shrink and hot glue the materials for

two of these cost me only 5% of that 2

Grand and with the addition of some

tubing and aquarium air rating stones to

produce fine bubbles they could now

slide down the middle of the tank and

shine out in all directions through the

well aerated algae even though these

lights are quite bright it didn't take

long for the algae to make them much

darker the light is barely getting

through now or for them to really start

scrubbing out the CO2 I did it I now

have 100 Gall of algae tomorrow I'm

going to try and breathe using just this

algae and the algae that's already you

know in the room all right we are at

test number seven I think this is a very

special test now we have 100 4 gallons

of algae it's crazy I'm so excited for

this one because this is the one where

something's going to happen and I have

this tube my breath is the most

dangerous thing in this room because it

has the highest concentration of carbon

dioxide so this tube is connected to the

intake of the air pumps that way it runs

my breath directly through the algae

giving them more food and scrubbing out

as much CO2 as possible right away we

got the beeping going cuz we just

crossed into 1,500 territory 1,500 we at

almost 24 minutes I think we're doing

really well and now for the first time

in this whole process I was surprised in

a good way wa no way no way it's only

gone up 75 parts per million in the last

6 minutes how is that possible 30

minutes and we're at

1588 I'm just going to sit here puffing

on this for a while the CO2 increase

kept slowing down the higher it got

maybe because the algae was getting more

efficient or maybe because we were

approaching equilibrium but either way I

wasn't complaining okay we are at 39

minutes and we're at 1760 the CO2 is

crawling it's that 99 we're at 99 I'm

not feeling like headit or anything I'm

feeling perfectly normal 1,800 we just

reached 1,800 parts per million and now

we're at 43 minutes and just like that

the 40-minute Milestone was in the rear

view mirror can't believe I've made it

this far like 2 months ago I was like I

should probably start growing algae and

while I was looking in that rear view

mirror I found myself reflecting know

I've had a lot of projects lately like

my rubber band car that only went you

know like not even 5 m hour I'm not

going to complain and say it's hard like

obviously it's hard it's a it's a ton of

work but I'm glad I did this one you

know a part of me wonders I don't know

if this video will do well it's kind of

I think it's really cool I think it's

really cool

[Music]

he said as he breathed into a

tube with our over 100 gallons of algae

it took us 55 minutes to reach 2,000

parts per million for an insane average

PPM PM of

24.5 and I had a plan to do even better

I'm going to get more air pumps we're

going to let the algae keep growing I'm

going to do this again tomorrow I don't

even why am I still breathing into this

tube I don't just got another pump more

tubing in aquarium stones I'm super

excited we're going to double the air

flow through it certainly there was no

way we were maximizing the surface area

of that algae this could make all the

difference this could be the final brick

in the foundation of being able to

breathe in space or in this sealed space

in my basement I'm excited test number

eight got the two air pumps I've got

them both hooked up to this funnel

that's a weird feeling when this sucks

to your

face ow we're at 15 minutes and we're at

110 parts per million I don't know it's

so nonlinear not even worth really

speculating meaning like always we

probably wouldn't see a big difference

until the levels got higher this thing

keeps sucking to my face I just realized

that as I get closer and closer to the

Finish Line I'm going to have to spend a

lot more time in this room you see as a

differential approaches equilibrium it

slows down big gap big movement small

Gap small movement so finding the level

where the CO2 who actually stops going

up could take a long time I'm the one

who devised this whole premise in these

experiments it's my decision it's still

a long time to sit in a room with a

funnel on your face but I had never been

this close to Victory and patiently

passed the minutes to get there 30

minutes 1363 but since I was only

measuring CO2 and not the oxygen in the

air I thought it would be a good idea to

do a little research let's read the

symptoms of hypoxia restlessness

headache confusion anxiety rapid heart

rate rapid breathing difficulty

breathing or shortness of breath so if I

get a headache while I'm in here if I

start having anxiety while I'm in here a

rapid heart rate I'm going to pull the

plug difficulty breathing definitely

pulling the plug confusion I mean I'm

always a bit confused so in good health

I pushed forward and man were we going

forward we're just about to cross the

60-minute line 1700 parts per million

going very slowly but it's not stopping

I wish it was sto we're approaching 1

hour 20 minutes 18:31 it was creeping

and all a sudden it just shot up 2040

cuz I wasn't breathing in this I was

taking a selfie and all of a sudden boo

but um so 30 minutes had become an hour

and 30 minutes but that's just to 2,000

parts per million and during my next

test I realized that my breath after

coming out of the algae was being

reduced by over 90% meaning the ru might

stabilize around 3,500 parts per million

the most concentrated anything is what's

coming right out of my mouth right now

and putting the reading right at the

output what I'm going to get is the

highest concentration post algae

theoretically this room shouldn't get

any higher than that reading but getting

there could take a very long time so for

the next test I came up with a

plan yes that is a CO2 tank and the plan

is to jump the CO2 into the high 3000s

and then wait and see see does it go

down it's holding right around 3557

let's see if we can make it go down once

the CO2 had mixed evenly into the air

and the meter stabilized I started

exhaling only into the funnel and waited

for 29 minutes it's going up really

slowly but it won't go down I didn't

dare speak and accidentally leak some

CO2 but I checked the meter and timer

religiously waiting for the flip then it

happened and all I could do was silently

freak out out but the battle wasn't over

yet I still had to make sure that this

was really happening but as the CO2

slowly began creeping up again I checked

the output of the algae tank and it

wasn't great all right I can talk hey

the room has held it's held right around

there it's dropped gone up a little

dropped it seemed like it's holding

steady but I will say that the air

coming out of the big algae tanks is

it's like 4,100 so it's elevated the

success is tenuous at best it's probably

just going to slowly Elevate over time

this is a system it's just it's

underpowered I'm thinking that I

probably would need another 50g setup so

I built another 50g

setup the following test seemed to show

stability in the high 3000s so I added

another 50 Gall which seemed to

stabilize in the high 2000s but all of

this was with artificially introduced

CO2 and each test only took place over

the course of an hour or so it was like

29 15 14 13 and then it was 29 17 19 now

it's 2910 and you know I just wasn't

certain that this really proved that it

was working plus up to this point I had

still never measured the actual oxygen

levels of the room and I realized that

there was no way around it I was going

to need to get an oxygen gas meter do a

new Baseline test all the way to 5,000

with the reactors turned off then turn

them back on and settle in for the

biggest test of of all and that's what

I'm going to do spend a day in the

sealed room but I haven't done it yet

because it's a big deal to spend an

entire day in a sealed room