how does the nose detect smell?

Question

is that it interprets the signal of the tiny particles in the air?

Answer 1

Yes, you're essentially correct.

The nose detects smells as chemicals in the air which you take in. These chemicals are brought into contact with the olfactory epithelium, the specialised lining of your nose.

The olfactory epithelium contains about 50 million primary smell receptors (specially adapted nerve cells). These smell receptors send processes through tiny holes in the bones at the top of your brain (called the cribriform plate).

When a smell receptor detects a particular smelly chemical (an odorant) a signal is passed by the receptor neurons to the olfactory nerve just above the nose. The olfactory nerve is basically a bundle of nerve cells which is an extension of the brain. The signals are passed as electrical impulses to the brain, where they are then interpreted.

And then your brain tells you you've smelt something (and whether it was nice, nasty, makes you feel hungry etc etc).

Answer 2

Smell is a very direct sense. In order for you to smell something, molecules from that thing have to make it to your nose. Everything you smell, therefore, is giving off molecules -- whether it is bread in the bakery, onions, perfume, a piece of fruit or whatever. Those molecules are generally light, volatile (easy to evaporate) chemicals that float through the air into your nose. A piece of steel has no smell because nothing evaporates from it -- steel is a non-volatile solid.

At the top of your nasal passages behind your nose, there is a patch of special neurons about the size of a postage stamp. These neurons are unique in that they are out in the open where they can come into contact with the air. They have hair-like projections called cilia that increase their surface area. An odor molecule binds to these cilia to trigger the neuron and cause you to perceive a smell.

Answer 3

well, the lining of ur nose is of two main types.. the respiratory one & the sensory one... the sensory lining is the one which detects the smells. it contain certain types of modified nerve cells which have processes.. these processes or cilia is being held in a certain type of secretion in which the particles of smells are dissolved.. then the signals are sent to the brain thru the olfactory nerve to interept this smell.. in fact the nerve cells in the olfactory mucosa has a certain significance that's it's only nerve cells in ur body that can regenerate or unless when u catch a cold u won't gain back ur sense of smell !!
hope i've helped :)

Answer 4

the olfactory cells in our nostrils are responsible for the detection of smell.... olfactory cells alone can`t detect the smell but they are sent to smelling centre in our brain which is not so well developed as those in animals ..there the signals are interpreted and so detected.....

Answer 5

well may be he is an expert in investigations and so a CID officer.