Question

Describe the physics of wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of
COVID19 as compared to now wearing a mask. Use the physics you just
learned from chapters 12 (mechanical waves and sound), chapter 13 (fluid
mechanics) and other relevant chapters. Give your reseaoning. (Hint: Draw
pictures of the movement at various times, use the questions/graphs you
learned from this class to describe that motion).

Answer 1

The use of face masks in public settings has been widely recommended by public health officials during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The masks help mitigate the risk of cross-infection via respiratory droplets.

The respiratory droplets produced by both healthy and infected individuals when performing various activities. The transport characteristics of these droplets can vary significantly depending on their diameter.The droplet diameters vary widely and usually lie within the range 1 µm–500 µm, with a mean diameter of ∼10 µm.The larger droplets (diameter >100 µm) are observed to follow ballistic trajectories under the effects of gravity and The smallest droplets and particles (diameter < 5 µm–10 µm) may remain suspended in the air indefinitely, until they are carried away by a light breeze or ventilation airflow.