Breathalyzer

CREAO

Member
Alright, so last night I was at a party with some friends and it got busted by the cops. My one friend who is 20 got breathalyzed and blew a .04 and got charged with underage drinking. Now I sat at home just thinking about things and I started to research breathalyzers and how they work.

The Breathalyzer device contains:
  • A system to sample the breath of the suspect
  • Two glass vials containing the chemical reaction mixture
  • A system of photocells connected to a meter to measure the color change associated with the chemical reaction
To measure alcohol, a suspect breathes into the device. The breath sample is bubbled in one vial through a mixture of sulfuric acid, potassium dichromate, silver nitrate and water. The principle of the measurement is based on the following chemical reaction:

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In this reaction:
  1. The sulfuric acid removes the alcohol from the air into a liquid solution.
  2. The alcohol reacts with potassium dichromate to produce:
    • chromium sulfate
    • potassium sulfate
    • acetic acid
    • water
The silver nitrate is a catalyst, a substance that makes a reaction go faster without participating in it. The sulfuric acid, in addition to removing the alcohol from the air, also might provide the acidic condition needed for this reaction.
During this reaction, the reddish-orange dichromate ion changes color to the green chromium ion when it reacts with the alcohol; the degree of the color change is directly related to the level of alcohol in the expelled air. To determine the amount of alcohol in that air, the reacted mixture is compared to a vial of unreacted mixture in the photocell system, which produces an electric current that causes the needle in the meter to move from its resting place. The operator then rotates a knob to bring the needle back to the resting place and reads the level of alcohol from the knob -- the more the operator must turn the knob to return it to rest, the greater the level of alcohol.




No on to my question, do you think you could somehow neutralize those chemicals so they wouldn't react to the alcohol? I was thinking maybe make a pill that could dissolve in your mouth?

Im not trying to get flamed for this either, I was just curious
 
The problem is that you have to blow for an extended period of 3-6 seconds. This results in air from your lungs being passed through the device. This is where the alcohol is being excreted from your body.
 
yes, I know, but what im trying to get at is maybe you could have a pill that could dissolve and you would have those neutralizing chemicals in your breath. And those could screw the machine into reading nothing.
 
You would have neutral chemicals in your mouth not in your breath. I get what you are getting at, but I believe it is unlikely it will work.
 
For instance; my wife smokes. I tell her her breath stinks. She goes and brushes her teeth. Then comes back and says "all gone". She breaths on me and I still smell cigarettes. Her breath is fresh but her lungs are full of cigarette smell.
 
well atleast you get where im going with this lol. Im still curious what chemicals would neutralize the ones stated. I can't seem to find any good info on google.
 
or maybe some kind of small filter you could stick in your mouth and breath through it into the tube? Im just throwing ideas out :icon_lol:
 
you'd probably need something like an asthma pump so that the "chemical" can be delivered to your lungs.
 
The show "Myth Busters" tried to fool a breathalyzer by many different methods, and was unable to do so. Great show if you have cable.
 
Creao, it's probably possible in some way, but nothing I've ever found worked. Maybe you can make something and market it. I think you'd have a pretty large market for it :)
 
doggzj said:
but nothing I've ever found worked.
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Please do enlighten us to what methods you have tried and what breath testing device you have used to perform your testing with.
 
lol, im sure there would be a LARGE market for it :twisted:

He was probably talking about penny under the tounge, mouthwash ...etc
 
I want to invent a cell phone with a breathalyzer option.

No more drumk dialing for me!

I got myself in trouble just last night.
 
B5150 said:
Please do enlighten us to what methods you have tried and what breath testing device you have used to perform your testing with.
Click to expand...

I should have rephrased that to "from what I've read". I personally have not had a chance to test this, but as I'm no longer a big drinker it's not on my list either.

You can buy a personal breathalyzer if you wish to test on yourself.
 
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