Do we exhale Argon (Ar) in our breath? If yes, how long it could last in the open air/atmosphere?

Question

The reason why I am asking this question is; today I saw a TV programme (couldn’t remember the name) had said that Ar was in our out breath and it could last very long. It further added that, even we could inhale Ar that Jesus Christ had exhaled.

Is there any true in it?

Answer 1

Because argon atoms are in the atmosphere, we both inhale and exhale argon. Our body doesn't do anything with the argon because it is extremely unreactive. (Argon is an example of a noble gas.) Because argon is so unreactive, it doesn't become a part of a compound...it also doesn't simply disappear. That's why you could make the statment about breathing Ar atoms that Jesus had exhaled.

You could probably make similar statements about just about any other atom, to be honest. Unless an atom is radioactive, it won't just wink out of existence. Unless an atom somehow escapes earth's gravity it stays around and keeps getting recycled into new compounds. For example, I'm sure that carbon atoms that previously made up the bodies of dinosaurs are in your own body now.

Answer 2

Yes, air is about 1% Argon. It's totally inert so we constantly inhale and exhale it. It's not radioactive or chemically reactive, so it lasts a long long time. It must only decay by collision with cosmic rays or something, so it would be around much much longer than 2,000 years. I don't remember specifically, but I've heard of probability calculations that say every breath we take contains atoms we've breathed before; a little counter-intuitive but sounded legit. So yes, I'd say it likely we occasionally breathe some Argon atoms that were breathed by Jesus.