Somebody trying to tell me masks don’t work and they say they’ve seen studies blah blah . I’m pretty sure they’re wrong but what’s the best most convincing evidence to change somebody’s mind?

  • its [it/its]
    ·
    2 years ago

    This isn't correct. Viruses don't float freely in the air, they're attached to particles (water droplets in this case) of varying size. Furthermore, even if they were somehow individually present brownian motion captures most particles smaller than 0.3nm. Also, N95 masks use an electrostatic layer for added protection. There's even n95 surgical masks. Masks do have to be worn correctly to achieve proper filtration but there have been numerous studies confirming the stated efficacy of the n95 standard for particles of various sizes.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389421017507#tbl0005

    https://groups.oist.jp/nnp/diy-face-mask

    https://web.archive.org/web/20230214144841/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/11/fact-check-n-95-filters-not-too-large-stop-covid-19-particles/5343537002/

    • xXthrowawayXx [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      i think you meant um instead of nm for brownian motion also brownian motion isn't at play in flow, so it doesn't apply to the movement of particles through a filter. there is no electrostatic layer specified by the n95 standard, it's just a cheap way to get away with looser weaves and still pass the spec. there are no procedure masks that meet the n95 standard (idk what you mean by n95 surgical masks).

      there are viruses that either form a spore or otherwise can float freely in air and due to some either bad reporting or scaremongering we had a few months back in '21 where people believed covid-19 was one of em. afaik its not but i didn't wanna make an already long post even longer and that's a bear to write on mobile.

      i'm with you that masks slow down the process of getting infected with covid. this last few years have tested our literacy in a crazy way.