nitrogen oxide

chemical compound

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major reference

acid rain

  • nitrogen cycle
    In acid rain

    >nitrogen oxides (NOx; the combination of NO and NO2) from human activities, mostly the combustion of fossil fuels. In acid-sensitive landscapes, acid deposition can reduce the pH of surface waters and lower biodiversity. It weakens

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  • nitrogen cycle
    In acid rain: Chemistry of acid deposition

    …acidification include the production of nitrogen oxides from the conversion of atmospheric molecular nitrogen (N2) by lightning and the conversion of organic nitrogen by wildfires. However, the geographic extent of any given natural source of acidification is small, and in most cases it lowers the pH of precipitation to no…

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environmental economics

nitrogen

  • nitrogen
    In nitrogen: Compounds

    Many of the nitrogen oxides are extremely volatile; they are prime sources of pollution in the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is sometimes used as an anesthetic; when inhaled it produces mild hysteria. Nitric oxide reacts rapidly with oxygen to form brown nitrogen dioxide, an…

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smog and ozone formation

  • bronchioles of the lungs
    In respiratory disease: Air pollution

    …begins with the emission of nitrogen oxide during the morning commuting hour, followed by the formation of nitrogen dioxide by oxygenation, and finally, through a complex series of reactions in the presence of hydrocarbons and sunlight, leads to the formation of ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrite and other irritant compounds. Eye…

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toxicity

  • blue-ringed octopus
    In poison: General air pollutants

    Both ozone and nitrogen oxides are oxidizing pollutants. Like sulfur dioxide, they cause respiratory irritation; ozone and nitrogen oxides, however, tend to be more irritating to the lung than to the upper respiratory tract.

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