What is a smell? This is a phenomenon associated with the sense of smell of a person, which to this day has not been fully studied. In many ways, it remains a mystery even to the scientists themselves. The concept of smell is inextricably linked not only with physiological processes, but also with the human psyche. Some of the sides of what this phenomenon represents will be considered in the article.
Odor perception
What is a smell? This is a specific sensation by a person or animal of odorous volatile substances that are in the air. They are detected by specific chemical olfactory receptors located in humans and animals in the nasal cavity.
Perception of smell is a complex process that breaks down into many stages. Smells are different in structure and composition. Some substances are perceived by a person differently, depending on their concentration in the air.
For the vast majority of people, the smell is a little differentiated, integral (total) sensation. After all, it is determined by the total effect obtained from irritation of such receptors as the olfactory, trigeminal nerve and the vomeronasal organ (the peripheral part of the additional olfactory system). There is an assumption that the aerosol component of the atmosphere is also involved in the sense of smell.
Some features
As a rule, the smell is either neutral or pleasant. At the same time, receptors are loaded at an average level. When the aroma has a high concentration, it begins to cause unpleasant feelings, the so-called sensory overload occurs.
Exposure to certain substances causes adaptation quite quickly. In this case, there is a complete loss of the smell of such a substance. For such a case, hydrogen sulfide is a typical example. It is easily detected in minimal proportions that are not harmful to health. But after a short period of time, the intensity of sensation drops very sharply, and a person becomes unable to feel a concentration that exceeds the MPC in air.
When several odors are superimposed, a significant distortion of the overall aroma rating can occur. This phenomenon has been adopted by perfumers; it is used by them in composing compositions when new types of perfumes are created.
Continuing to study the question of what smell is, consider some of its varieties.
Types of odors
Among them are the following:
- Amines. Looks like the smell of fish, ammonia, urine. Easily neutralized with acid.
- Sulfur compounds. Foul protein, sulfur dioxide, odor present in the metallurgical industry.
- Alcohols. Butanol, isopropyl, amyl alcohol. It can be washed off with water.
- Carboxylic acids and aldehydes. The smell is close to alcohols, but some of them smell quite pleasantly and are part of perfumes. For example, the aldehyde is aniseed or cinnamon. Among not very pleasant smells such as valerian, formalin, vinegar.
- Esters are compounds of alcohol and acid from which water was isolated. All these are fruit aromas - the smells of pineapples, pears and some paint thinners, as well as vanillin, which is an essential component of essential oils.
- Terpenes, as well as their esters. These include various pleasant smells of almost all plants. They are also components of essential oils and are used in perfumes.
- Hydrocarbons smell like gasoline. Many people like them, but you can’t use them for perfumes, since they are poisonous. Sometimes they are part of essential oils.
- Choking gases that smell like iodine and bleach. This, for example, bromine, chlorine, fluorine, hydrochloric, nitric acid, ozone. Since the smell is strongly associated with concentration, in small amounts both hydrogen sulfide, ozone, and butyric acid do not smell so bad.
What are the smells of perfume?
Perfumers use their own classification of odors. The most popular flavor groups are:
- Floral - the most common - rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, carnation, lily.
- Oriental, or oriental, is patchouli, vanillin, sandalwood.
- Sea, or oceanic, carry a feeling of coolness and freshness.
- Woody are more commonly used by men. This is myrtle, musk, dry cedar, blue iris.
- Fresh aromas (vegetable). These include the smells of the first spring flowers, lavender, rosemary, leaves, herbs.
- Chypre - resin, sage, oak moss, patchouli.
- Aldehyde - aromas that do not exist in nature. They are juicy, intense, colorful.
- Citrus fruits - grapefruit, mandarin, bergamot, orange, lemon.
- Fruit - pear, apple, pineapple, apricot, papaya.
- Leather. This is a men's group of fragrances that recreates the smell of skin, smoke, tobacco, burnt wood. These are the smells of tar, birch, juniper.
Series title
“The Smell of a Child” - with this name came the Turkish series, translated into Russian, which can be watched online. He talks about the fate of the girl Zeyno and about her best friend Nesrin, whom she considers her sister.
Zeyno, being a nurse in a children's hospital, lived modestly. She loved a guy named Yusuf, dreaming that they would get married. However, when the girl informed her lover that she was pregnant, he suggested that she get rid of the child.
What the girl will do and how her future fate will turn out, you will find out if you watch the series.
Unhealthy air in the apartment
Often you can feel an unpleasant smell at home, which is very difficult to get rid of. After all, it is not always possible to determine exactly where it comes from. What could be the cause of an unpleasant odor? Among them may be such as, for example:
- Carpets, rugs, furniture, curtains absorbed tobacco smoke.
- Not washed dishes in large quantities in time.
- Clogged and rusted pipes.
- Dirt, grease in the microwave and in the oven remaining after cooking.
- Residues of microorganisms in the refrigerator, formed as a result of long-term storage of products.
- Insufficiently good cleaning in the bathroom and toilet.
- Not fully washed and cleaned clothes in a wardrobe.
- Stale bedding.
- Unweathered sweat in closed shoes.
- Dust collected in the air after cleaning with a vacuum cleaner.
- Waste lying in a garbage container for a long time.
From the above, we can conclude that cleanliness is not only a guarantee of health, but also an enemy of an unpleasant smell.
The role of odors
In conclusion of the consideration of the question of what a smell is, it should be noted that it plays a huge role in people's lives, in their perception of the world - both physiological and psychological. So, they can affect labor productivity, appetite, choice of products, mood, evoke certain memories, stimulate shopping.
In the sexual sphere, they are also very important. One of the evidence for this, according to scientists, is the change in odor preference observed when a person reaches puberty. Before puberty, fruit and sweet aromas usually seem more pleasant, and then there is a shift towards musky, floral and oily.
A series of experiments shows that men manage to “smell” a woman when she is in a state of sexual arousal. And there is also a theory that partners are selected by smell, which, however, is not felt by olfactory receptors.