Chemistry Stack Exchange
Chemistry Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [smell]

For questions regarding the chemical processes or chemicals involved in distinguishable smells

This tag should be applied to chemistry questions which involve one of the human senses - Olfaction - or the odor behind them. The question must be about the chemical process or the chemicals that cause the specific odor behind a natural phenomenon. Under-researched questions might be identified as questions per community consensus, and dealt with in accordance to our homework policy.

Please check the help center to ensure that your question is a good fit for Chemistry.StackExchange before posting it. The existence of this tag by no means indicates that all -related questions are on-topic.

99 questions
231
votes
1 answer

Why can we smell copper?

If I can smell an object, it means that molecules of it are getting separated from it, so they can reach my nose. As far as I know, metals don't sublimate, especially not in room temperature. However, copper has a very strong and characteristic…
vsz
  • 2,694
  • 2
  • 14
  • 14
81
votes
1 answer

What causes the old book smell?

I have a collection of old books (all 80+ years old), recently, I received a British Chemistry text from 1903 (intro page below) - this being the oldest book of my collection (112 years old at the time of writing this question): One thing I notice…
user15489
75
votes
5 answers

How do people know HCN smells like almonds?

I was told by my chemistry teacher that $\ce{HCN}$ smells like almonds. She then went on to tell a story about how some of her students tried to play a prank on her by pouring almond extract down the drain to make her think that they had…
vandal11
  • 837
  • 1
  • 6
  • 10
47
votes
1 answer

What's the biggest organic molecule that could have a smell?

For a molecule to have a smell it's necessary that the molecule be volatile enough to be in the air. So I think that excludes molecules which are solid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Maybe the question then is equivalent to: what is…
pentane
  • 533
  • 4
  • 9
41
votes
2 answers

What causes the "rotting fish smell"?

Rotting fish seem to give off the same (very pungent) kind of smell, regardless of the kind (salmon, seabreen, tuna, etc). What exactly is it that's responsible for this unique smell? (Though I've answered my own question below, do feel free to…
paracetamol
  • 18,297
  • 26
  • 102
  • 166
32
votes
3 answers

Why does burnt hair smell bad?

When I use hot stuff like hair straightener on my hair, my hair begins to smell bad, which is very different from smell produced from burning other things. So what's the gas produced that is responsible for this smell?
AksaK
  • 985
  • 4
  • 14
  • 23
27
votes
1 answer

Why does lemon juice reduce the "fish" odor of sea food — specifically fish?

In studying amines, I read that lemon juice is also used to wash fish because it reacts with the amines on and in the fish to convert the amines to its salt, just reducing the "fishy smell". I was thinking that it must be the citric acid in lemon…
Winter Soldier
  • 389
  • 1
  • 4
  • 9
25
votes
5 answers

Why are smoke odors persistent in fabrics?

Obviously smoke is very complex, but apparently phenol compounds are the main components of wood smoke that produce the characteristic odor. (One of more significant of these compounds seems to be syringol.) The human nose seems to be pretty…
RobertShaw
  • 351
  • 3
  • 5
24
votes
2 answers

Is sodium chloride really odourless? If yes, what do I smell?

I just had to read some general descriptions of sodium chloride and it was always classified as odourless (e.g., by Wikipedia). However, large amounts of table salts (around 1 kg) have a clearly perceptible odour to me. By table salt I mean salt…
Wrzlprmft
  • 360
  • 1
  • 3
  • 17
23
votes
2 answers

What is the smell of 'burning' metal?

When a pass a construction site where someone is welding two pieces of metal together there is a very distinct smell that I associate with 'burning' metal, although I am not quite sure it is burning in the traditional sense. Also, when someone…
Michiel
  • 6,630
  • 3
  • 29
  • 60
23
votes
2 answers

Why do socks stink?

What chemicals are responsible for the stench emanating from socks? If it's just sweat, why don't underwear or vests stink as much? Which gas am I inhaling when smelling socks to decide whether they need a wash?
Shc
  • 255
  • 2
  • 4
22
votes
1 answer

Why does brown sugar have a strong smell but white sugar doesn't?

I noticed something while cooking and was wondering what the chemical explanation is for this. White sugar has a smell, but it's different, and much fainter than that of brown sugar. Brown sugar is unrefined, so does this have something to do with…
sqrtbottle
  • 510
  • 2
  • 4
  • 10
20
votes
2 answers

What causes the really bad smell of rotten potatoes?

Rotten potatoes have a distinctive unpleasant odour, and I can't find any definitive answer as to what the chemical involved is. I was thinking it might be Butyric acid, from the fermentation of the starch, but according to Wikipedia: Butyric acid…
stib
  • 415
  • 1
  • 3
  • 8
18
votes
3 answers

What causes the smell in rotten meat-grease and how can I get rid of it thoroughly?

We've just spilled the can of used meat-grease we collect so that it doesn't go down the drain and it turns out it was rotten. Now the granite counter-top and the wood-laminate floor of the kitchen smell very bad even after repeated cleaning with…
Daniel Miles
  • 183
  • 1
  • 4
18
votes
2 answers

Why do chalcogens (Group VI) stink so badly?

For more fun with Dr. Derek Lowe, see this for a primer: Things I Won't Work With - Carbon Diselenide. The short of it is that we carbon-based life forms generally like oxygen. However, move just one row down in the group, to sulfur, and things…
KeithS
  • 6,524
  • 1
  • 28
  • 39
1
2 3 4 5 6 7