[thedoc]

What volume of gas does a person has to have to affect their own weight.  Does having gas make you weigh more or less?
Asked by Sandra

               
               Read the naked scientists answer here
               
            

[Mr. Scientist]

Makes you weigh more.

[Chemistry4me]

I wanted to know what volume of gas (farts) a person has and the weight of the gas.  Does having gas make you weigh less or more?

Most people produce about 1 to 4 pints a day and pass gas about 14 times a day. [xx(]

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gas/

[Geezer]

If you weigh yourself while standing in a swimming pool with the water half-way up your torso, you'll weigh less.

I actually conducted this experiment in our swimming pool when we lived in Mesa, AZ.

[Bored chemist]

Basketballs, soccer balls, footballs etc weigh more after filled with air.

True, but they weigh less if you fill then with helium.

The composition of the gases in the gut is a bit variable but I bet that the overall mix is less dense than air. Any water vapour or methane would make the gas lighter. So would removing oxygen. The fly in the ointment would be CO2 and I don't know how much of that is present.

[Nizzle]

Basketballs, soccer balls, footballs etc weigh more after filled with air.

True, but they weigh less if you fill then with helium.

The composition of the gases in the gut is a bit variable but I bet that the overall mix is less dense than air. Any water vapour or methane would make the gas lighter. So would removing oxygen. The fly in the ointment would be CO2 and I don't know how much of that is present.

Don't forget that your bowel gases might not be at atmospheric pressure, so even if the mixture would have a density less than air, if the pressure is sufficient, it'll still make you heavier

[Bored chemist]

There's one to add to the top 10 experiments I never want to do; measure the gas pressure where the sun doesn't shine.
You may be right but I don't plan to cheack. Incidentally I forgot to add that hydrogen is part of the mix. If it were pure H2 then it would need to be under a lot of pressure to be denser than air.

[Don_1]

sandramafnas asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hi from Surprise, Arizona
 
I wanted to know what volume of gas (farts) a person has and the weight of the gas.  Does having gas make you weigh less or more?
 
Thank you,
Sandra Mafnas

What do you think?

If you think you are going to get extra points at your Weight Watchers meeting by farting before you get on the scales, I have some bad news for you.......

[Nizzle]

If you think you are going to get extra points at your Weight Watchers meeting by farting before you get on the scales, I have some bad news for you.......

Maybe they have really accurate scales []

[thedoc]

Listen to the answer to this question on our podcast.