How does a breathalyser test work?!


Question: How does a breathalyser test work!?
I don't know anything about breathalyser tests at all!. I know you like blow into it and than something about your blood alcohol level, what does that mean!? Does it mean when I drink the alcohol goes into my blood!? And how does it know!? Would the breathalyser think someone with asthma was drunk!? How high does your blood alcohol level have to be for it to be illegal for you to drive!? How many drinks does that take!? If it depends on the person what does it depend on!?Www@FoodAQ@Com


Answers:
When you drink, your body tries to absorb the alcohol!. The alcohol gets released into your bloodstream!. The amount of alcohol your body releases into your bloodstream is your Blood Alcohol Content!. !.15 means that 00!.15% of the fluid in your blood is alcohol!.
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When you breathe into the Breathalyzer it scans the air you breathed out and checks for alcohol content through Infrared light!. With that scan, it can tell how much of your breath is pure alcohol, and in turn, can deduce what % of your blood is actually alcohol!.
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Other versions of the device put your breath into a chemical mix, that breaks down your breath, and checks for alcohol by separating it from everything else in your breath!.
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No, a breathalyzer would not think someone with asthma was drunk!.
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To check the legal limit for alcohol, check your local laws!.
I believe its generally around !.08
(00!.08% of your blood)
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It depends on the size of the person drinking!. Small think people get drunk faster than tall fat people!. A larger person will have more blood, and in turn will require more alcohol to raise the total Blood Alcohol %!.
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Think of it like filling 2 pools!. Fill a kiddy pool to 00!.15% maximum capacity!. Its not that much water!. But if you fill an olympic sized swimming pool to 00!.15% maximum capacity, its a lot more water!.
So depending on the size of the pool (person) it takes a different amount of water (alcohol) to fill it to the same % of maximum capacity!.
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http://science!.howstuffworks!.com/breatha!.!.!.

Principle of Testing
-Alcohol that a person drinks shows up in the breath because it gets absorbed from the mouth, throat, stomach and intestines into the bloodstream!.

Alcohol- is not digested upon absorption, nor chemically changed in the bloodstream!. As the blood goes through the lungs, some of the alcohol moves across the membranes of the lung's air sacs (alveoli) into the air, because alcohol will evaporate from a solution -- that is, it is volatile!. The concentration of the alcohol in the alveolar air is related to the concentration of the alcohol in the blood!. As the alcohol in the alveolar air is exhaled, it can be detected by the breath alcohol testing device!. Instead of having to draw a driver's blood to test his alcohol level, an officer can test the driver's breath on the spot and instantly know if there is a reason to arrest the driver!.

Because the alcohol concentration in the breath is related to that in the blood, you can figure the BAC by measuring alcohol on the breath!. The ratio of breath alcohol to blood alcohol is 2,100:1!. This means that 2,100 milliliters (ml) of alveolar air will contain the same amount of alcohol as 1 ml of blood!.

For many years, the legal standard for drunkenness across the United States was 0!.10, but many states have now adopted the 0!.08 standard!. The federal government has pushed states to lower the legal limit!. The American Medical Association says that a person can become impaired when the blood alcohol level hits 0!.05!. If a person's BAC measures 0!.08, it means that there are 0!.08 grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood!.

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your Blood Alcohol Content [BAC] varies per person depending on their height and weight!. i'm 5'6" 130lbs so two beers make my BAC something like a 0!.08 or something!. but if your tolerance is high you could drink 6 beers, be fine but still have a high BAC!. Alcohol is released into your blood slowly, which is why it takes a while for a drink to kick in!. And thats also why if you drink a few drinks you still feel them coming on in waves after a while, and it takes a while for them to go away!. But the breath tester checks the amount of alcohol in your breath!. it's all chemical!. you have alcohol floating out of your mouth when you breath and it catches that and rates it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

The body eliminates alcohol by 3 ways!. The liver processes 90% of it!. 8% is eliminated through the breath and 2% is by sweat!.

By measuring the amount of alcohol on your breath, they can calculate your alcohol blood content!.

Blood alcohol content of 0!.08 is illegal in most states!. With an average weight, 2 or 3 drinks for a male will put you over (1 or 2 drinks for a female)!.Www@FoodAQ@Com





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