WEBVTT - Breathalyzers: Really, Really Complicated 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:02.880 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:07.480 It's ready. Are you welcome to Stuff you Should Know 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:16.479 from House Stuff Works dot Com? Hey, and welcome to 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:19.279 the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. With me? Is always this 0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:25.560 Charles W. Sober as a judge Bryant? Yeah, yeah, Actually 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:27.440 when I say sober as a judge, I mean it 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:30.400 in relation to that one judge from Gwynette County who 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:32.320 was busted on the news for being drunk in the 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:35.840 middle of the day on the on the not the stand. 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.400 Where would he be what's that called? Uh Chambers? Now 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:41.120 that's no, No, it was that the It was a 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:44.199 a bar. Oh it'll like, you know, like during the day, 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:48.000 like for lunch, and I remember on the promo for whatever, 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.360 you know, news expose, a local news expose they had. 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:55.040 It was, um, he not only passed the bar, he 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:57.960 stopped and drank at it. I thought you were gonna 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:01.800 say he was drinking while judging. Well that was the implication, 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:06.360 is that he was doing the morning session out to lunch, 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:10.000 get drunk, and then going back and doing the afternoon session. Crocked. 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:13.000 The guy thinks it's like nineteen sixty one or something. 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:15.840 I would actually love for my judge to be slightly hammered. 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:18.840 I don't know, man, because you know what, he's a 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:24.319 mean drunk yeah in trouble. Yeah, exactly precisely. Um So 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.000 I guess that's as good as set up as any. Right, Well, 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:30.040 I mean, why don't you want the judge drinking. It's 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:34.000 not just because you want him to, you know, pass 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:37.520 a sensible sentence, right, It's also he's got to get 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:41.160 from the bar back to the courthouse, and on route 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:43.560 he could take out an entire family. Yeah, and I 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:46.280 doubt if the judges got his rob on on his bicycle, 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:50.000 although you shouldn't be driving a bicycle really drunk down 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:51.880 the road either. And plus I don't think they're allowed 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.120 to wear the robes outside of the court. I would 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:56.240 wear mine everywhere. I know you would, Chuck, And you 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:59.320 wear nothing underneath it, right, Chuck. Give us some stats. 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:01.520 There's some pretty add stats from two thousand eight that 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:04.560 I know you have on hand, Yes, Josh, if you're 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:09.040 talking about traffic accidents that result in death. In two 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.400 thousand and eight, there were um a little more than 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:17.680 thirty seven thousand total deaths by traffic accident, and about 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:21.240 close to fourteen thousand of those were alcohol related. Right, 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:25.960 that's thirty seven percent of all traffic related deaths were 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.280 because of alcohol. Yeah, and it's kind of hovered in 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.720 that range I noticed of the past few years. Um, 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:34.120 but I went back just for curiosity's sake, and in 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:41.160 of deaths were alcohol related, and there were twice as many. 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:45.000 There were twenty six thousand alcohol related deaths by you know, 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:50.480 vehicular means. I wonder though, if it's not just because 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.120 of more driving DRAWNK I'm sure that's something to do 0:02:54.160 --> 0:02:56.760 with it. But if that it's because there were fewer 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:59.560 SUVs on the road as well, it's probably that would 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.320 skew the ratio. Probably not as advanced testing more lax. 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:05.959 I think back then you could literally have an open 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:09.200 beer in the car if you weren't drunk, just drive 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:11.880 holding the beer and you're like, it's my first one, right, 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:13.280 what are you gonna do? You just take a couple 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:15.200 of SIPs while the cop pulls you over. That's a 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:18.800 the days, Well, Chuck, we are not a teetotal or society. 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.080 We tried that once, it was called prohibition. It didn't 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:26.119 work very well, right, you know, the mentality behind prohibition 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.080 was alcoholics have to have alcohol. The rest of us 0:03:29.080 --> 0:03:31.520 who are in alcoholics don't have to have alcohol, so 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.000 we can reasonably give it up for the benefit of 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:38.400 the alcoholics. Right. It didn't work, So we are you know, 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:40.880 we we know everybody likes to take a drink here there, 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:44.480 So there is a certain amount of alcohol that you're 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:47.080 allowed to have. I think in most states it's a 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:50.760 zero point zero eight. I think it's every state now. 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.080 But how to test that? Yes, there's a couple of ways. 0:03:56.080 --> 0:04:00.400 There's a few ways, um, blood urine. But I think 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.520 you could make a really excellent case that a police officer, 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:07.920 um removing a sample of blood or collecting the urine 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:11.320 of a driver he suspects as drunk, would you know, 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:16.760 reasonably violate the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure, 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:20.400 as well as a couple of human rights. Exactly, you 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:23.360 don't want some cops stabbing you with a hypodermic, right, 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:30.320 but your breath is expelled without any expectation of privacy, 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.160 which I think is why we have the breathalyzer and 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:36.279 why it's in use. Talk about the breathalyzer truck, which 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:42.520 you could also call the most confounded contraptions ever known 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.440 to man. They're way more advanced than I thought they 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.080 ever were. I thought there was a little gnome inside 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:51.719 that was like smells like Budweiser and lots of it, 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:54.960 and then no, yeah, no, it's like some of these, 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:57.279 some of these contraptions, there's um a few we're going 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:00.279 to talk about. There's three main types, but some of 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:04.240 them seem almost um Rube Goldberg ask like total you 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:08.440 would expect at some point there's a candle that that's 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:10.400 going to burn, a stream that drops an anvil, it 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:13.320 hits a catapult that like she's kitten somewhere, like that's 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:15.880 one of the processes. Yeah. I just want to point 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:17.880 out too before we move on that the point oh a. 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:20.720 You know, they've done test over the years and they 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:25.839 found that point oh four actually impairs a human being. Yeah, 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.760 the Medical Association says point oh five five. So I 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:30.919 just think I find it odd that that wouldn't be 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:33.480 the limit that they would say you can get a 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:35.360 little impaired, and that's fine, just go ahead and get 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.679 behind the wheel, but just not this level of impaired. 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:41.320 It just seems we should be blink really hard and 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.279 frequently while you're driving. I guess that just shows that 0:05:44.320 --> 0:05:47.200 we are not a teetotal society. So they do understand, 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:50.039 like you might have a drink at a bar, having 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:52.480 dinner and then get in your car and go home, 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:55.599 and that's okay. I guess that's what they say. Yeah, 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:57.360 So I mean, at the very least, you can't be 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:01.239 arrested for it, although I understand if it's right around 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:05.200 point oh eight, it's at the cops discretion. Yeah, And 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:08.440 whether or not even get a breathalyzer, yeah, because not 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:10.760 all of them have them. And then I think all 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:13.000 of them do the field sobriety tests first, because the 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:15.320 breathalyzers sort of a pain to get going, so right, 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:17.160 but I can do the test. I think the presence 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:20.320 the fact that the breathalyzer exists, if you do a 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:22.960 field sobriety test and arrest the person without giving him 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:27.640 a breathalyzer, I think that that's probably frequently acquitted, is it, 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:30.600 I would think so? Yeah, And I've never been I've 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:33.240 never blown into a breathalyzer, never been even pulled over 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:38.880 for alcohol. Good buddy, Moving on, so let's talk about 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:42.200 the breathalyzer um from this article written by Craig Freud 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:46.359 and Reach PhD, the only PhD who writes for the 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:50.000 site Your buddy, Right, No, I don't know. Oh, I thought, oh, 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:53.359 that's right, Tom, Tom chif he has a PhD in 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.800 School of Hard Knocks. Um. I was surprised to find 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:59.640 out how old these things are. In the nineteen forties, 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:04.039 they were testing the blood alcohol content by the breath. Yeah, 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.560 they were called drunk a meters back then. They really were. 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:08.720 And it had some guy with like a crumpled fedora 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:11.680 and like stars popping around his face. They really were, 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:16.760 though they were called drunken meters. And I believe that 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:18.480 they did not have like a nose on there that 0:07:18.520 --> 0:07:21.000 turned more red as you blew into it was like 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.000 you know, if you if you blew three pink elephates, 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:28.080 you're going downtown, buddy. But yeah, that that was when 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:32.640 they were first used. But the actual breathalyzer trademark breathalyzer 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:37.200 was invented in fifty four by Dr Borkenstein. Yes, from 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.960 the Indiana State Police, right, yeah, And um that was 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:43.320 another thing. I learned that the Indiana State Police have 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:49.000 doctors on their payroll. Yeah, I guess so, inventor doctors. Yeah. Um. 0:07:49.120 --> 0:07:55.360 And the premise of all of the um breath analyzing machines. 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.760 I don't know what that that category would be called. 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:04.320 That sounds right, breath analyzing machine, breath alcohol content, breath 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:08.800 analyzing machines, a breaking bubble, right, a piping feature. Um. 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:12.080 They they all work on the same principle, and that's 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:19.320 that alcohol is actually absorbed into um, the lungs, yeah, 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:21.680 and in your blood. Yeah, Like you drink. You take 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:25.080 a drink of alcohol, and you know, if you're a 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:27.120 reasonable adult and you've been drinking for a little while, 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:30.600 you know that it doesn't like, you don't digest that alcohol, 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:33.840 and it doesn't like change into maple syrup once it 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:36.160 hits your body. It stays as alcohol in your blood 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:39.960 to be delicious if it changes into communile syrup. Right. 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:44.720 And there's actually a predictable ratio between the blood alcohol content, 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:46.720 which is what screws you up and makes you like 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:50.800 blink really heavy and drive into other cars, and the 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:55.360 aviolar content, which is what's in your lungs and your breath. Right, 0:08:55.920 --> 0:09:00.040 And it's a one is the ratio. So if you 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:07.240 have um milli leaders of alcohol in your breath. You've 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:11.120 got one milli leader in your blood stream. That's the formula. 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:15.840 That's the basis for all this, right, all breathalyzers or 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:20.000 breath alcohol monitoring machine. So so considered this right there, 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:22.960 just the fact that we're measuring breath, we're actually measuring 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:26.400 a reflection of the blood alcohol content. Okay, that's that's 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:30.840 step one removed from actuality. Yes, okay, but again remember 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.960 the fact that breathalyzers exist um shows a deep and 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:40.600 continual um commitment by the state to protect human rights, 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:44.959 individual rights, and protect human lives. Right that that too, 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:48.800 of course, Chuck. So let's talk about the first one, 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:52.920 the breathalyzers, the Kleenex, the aspirin, the xerox of the 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:57.840 breath analyzing machines. Uh, Josh, that is the I don't 0:09:57.840 --> 0:09:59.640 know if it's the most common. I couldn't get any 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.360 stats on which you know. I think Atlanta uses the 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:05.439 infrared one. Actually, do you have like an inn at 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:08.120 the d a's office in Atlanta? You know a lot 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:12.760 about Atlantic that I do. The breathalyzer, Josh uses a 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:18.280 chemical reaction that basically makes it change color. So what 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.199 happens is you you blow into and I'm glad I'm 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:22.480 explaining this one because this is the only one I 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:27.720 truly understood. I got um the fuel cell one. All right, Well, 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:29.840 hopefully someone can come in and explain what the infrared 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:33.880 one means. Maybe Matt. Who's guest producing Matt, Matt, are 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:38.240 you still with that band? He says, yes, Blinds and scissors. 0:10:38.960 --> 0:10:41.319 Uh so, Josh, the breath the actual breathalyzer. What you 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.640 do is you blow into it. There are two glass 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:48.440 vials with a chemical reaction mixture and then a system 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:53.000 of photo cells. Why is that funny? I don't know. Uh. 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:55.640 So you breathe into the device and it bubbles up, 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:01.240 and the bubbles to a mixture of sulfuric acid, tassium dichromate, 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:06.000 silver nitrate, and water. Right, so that you have reddish 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:10.680 orange dichromate. Right, that's key. And when you breathe into 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:14.160 that and it's bubbling it, actually the alcohol in it 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:18.079 converts it to a green chromium ion. Right. Yeah, It 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:21.080 changes the color to green depending on how much alcohol 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:26.280 you've had. It varies on how much color change takes place. Right. Okay, 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:29.000 so you're with us so far, right, are you seeing? 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:34.440 Like how how difficult this is getting So we've converted 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:39.080 alcohol content to a color, right, Okay, go ahead, Chuck. So, 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.680 like I said, the degree of color change is related 0:11:41.720 --> 0:11:45.040 to how much alcohol you expel for your breath. So 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:47.000 what happens then, is it it goes over to the 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.360 photo cell system and there's an electric current that causes 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:54.200 a needle to move up. Okay, So the color remember this, 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.880 it's gone from reddish orange, not even red or orange. 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:01.960 Just to further comp it's a reddish orange that goes 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:06.000 to green, which is weird. The wavelength is measured to 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:10.480 determine how green that green ion is because Chuck, remember 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:14.440 the butterfly Wings episode. Like like color exists in different wavelengths, 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:19.040 it's how it's differentiated. So there's something measuring the wavelength, right, 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:22.640 and then it's comparing the green to the reddish orange 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.719 the original unreacted solution. Yes, And that's what's connected to 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:28.880 the meter. Because the cop doesn't just hold it up 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:32.560 like a pregnancy test, thank god, and say that looks 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:34.120 sort of green to me at least in this like 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:38.240 yellowish green, rather than as he's holding it next to 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:42.160 your green car, you know. So it's actually hooked up 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:45.600 to a device an electric current moves the needle, and 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:49.080 then the cop then rotates a knob to bring the 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:52.880 needle back to its original zero. Reading is what I 0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:56.400 gather and how much he turns that knob. The knob 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:59.600 has the point oh one point oh two, and that 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:03.040 will tell tell him or her, if it's a female cop, 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.080 how much alcohol you have in your breath. So if 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:08.720 you see, if you take a breathalyzer and you see 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:11.920 a cop turning a knob and shaking head like wow, 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:14.280 and he keeps turning it and turning it, you're probably 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.920 in trouble. You're crocked. You're crocked exactly. So um, the 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.520 blood alcohol content has been converted into a color. The 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:26.400 color is compared to the original unreacted color. That disparity 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:28.839 has turned into an electrical pulse which moves the needle, 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.079 and you move the needle back to zero by turning 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:36.560 a knob. In the amount of degree the knob that's 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:40.120 required to get it back to zero is how drunk 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:42.960 you are. And then the basketballs on top of the 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:45.679 mouse and it's trapped. That's a great recap to by 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.160 the way, thank you. That was That was the only 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:50.600 one I really actually understood too. Well. This should be 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:54.840 fun then, because up next Josh is the intoxilizer, and 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:59.800 that's the one that uses infrared spectron spectroscopy. So not 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:05.480 only can you convert um blood alcohol content where your 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:09.600 breath alcohol content into a color, you can shoot infrared 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.920 light at it and measure how much is absorbed and 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:16.600 then figure out how much alcohol is in the blood 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:21.480 using that standard ratio. Right, Yes, And that's possible because 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:26.080 molecules vibrate constantly, and when you shoot in for a 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:30.560 light into a molecule, it will the vibration will change 0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:34.920 and the bonds, the literal chemical bonds will actually change, right, 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:38.760 And we know how much, like say, um, a carbon 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:42.480 to oxygen bond in ethanol alcohol, which is what is 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.520 in our bloodstream, right, how much will be absorbed in 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.680 how much would be reflected back? Right? Yeah? Okay, so 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:53.680 once again you're dealing with wavelengths, right, yeah, So checking 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:58.920 this one, it's UM. I strongly strongly recommend uh people 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:01.360 who are listening to this podcast go onto the site 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.880 afterward and look at the batalizer article because there's some 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:07.120 really great illustrations that I wouldn't have been able to 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:10.960 get this without looking at these um But this one 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:15.240 looks kind of like a nitrous ox side chamber, but 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:18.520 with two holes in it, right, Um, And then at 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:21.520 the end there's a Courts lamp. So the Courts lamp 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:25.120 generates an infrared beam that shoots through the nitrous ox 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:29.160 side chamber. Right, you blow into the top hole and 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.080 your breath is in there, and it exhales through the 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:35.040 other hole right onto a spinning wheel. Right. Well, no, 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:39.120 it goes, it goes through the infrared beam, and then 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:42.200 it goes onto this, Yeah, this filter wheel, and each 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:46.120 of the there's different lenses in this filter wheel polarized too. 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:52.440 I guess just let certain colored ions passed through, right, 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:57.840 I know, the the different um I guess the different 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.480 infrared beams make it through this color wheel hit a 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:06.520 photo cell, which then interprets these things the wavelengths into 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:10.520 an electrical pulse again, and then that ultimately hits a 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:15.920 microprocessor where the information is translated into the blood alcohol 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.680 content the percentage. Could they make it any more difficult? 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:22.240 They could. I think the breath lizer may be more 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.920 difficult than that one, more complicated. Yeah, this one just 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.240 seems like Holy cow, because there's like a filter wheel 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:31.359 and infrared light. Yeah, but I think they're equally complicated. 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:33.760 And that's what they use in Atlanta. This is the 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:39.840 one they use, the intoxicator, the intoxicalizer, the eradicator. The 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.080 intoxicator would be you and I. Did you see the 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:46.240 kids in the hall on the soup recently? No, they 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.440 reunited for the first time. Yeah they did. Ah, they're 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:52.960 back with the show. Yeah, to promote mini series or something. 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:56.080 They don't. I think it's on HBO or so, although 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.640 they got nothing on the State. Yeah, you're a big 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.240 State fan, aren't you love this guy? You love David Wayne, 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:04.600 I do in came Marino. Those are my boys. So 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.479 josh uh, that's pretty much it for the intoxicalizer, right 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:12.919 bing bang boom done. Uh. Now this is the the 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:16.520 Alco Sensor. I love that there's two, the three, and 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.200 the four. I guess the one and the two went 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:21.640 the way of the Dodo, right. Yeah, they just said 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:23.840 everybody was drunk all the time, version one and version 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:27.080 two or the drunk a meters of the yea. Then 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:31.119 they changed the name two Alco sensor. And luckily the 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:35.080 Alco sensor UM is perfected now and it uses fuel 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:38.200 cell technology. It's kind of the same thing that they're 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:40.600 talking about for cars, which is crazy. It's pretty much 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:43.920 the exact same thing. You have a positive post and 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:47.479 a negative post, and then between you have a um 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:51.000 an electro light, which is just basically a thin film, right. Yeah, 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:54.520 that the poster platinum electrodes for all you chemistry nerds 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:58.120 out there, right, so this one has, uh, the the 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:03.680 suspected drunk driver low through a UM the say, the 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:09.160 negative post, that the platinum negative post, and this oxidizes 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.560 the alcohol present in the breath, right yes, and that 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:16.560 produces protons, electrons, and something called acetic acid, right So, 0:18:16.720 --> 0:18:19.800 but the the acetic acid is actually vinegar, so it's 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:22.800 actually producing vinegar in that weird okay that these things 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:27.240 stink after a few uses. Um. The the really important 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.359 part here is that it strips the ethanol, I believe 0:18:30.359 --> 0:18:35.360 the hydrogen, specifically of its electrons. Now, electrons have this 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:39.680 thing called electron flow where they naturally gravitate from negative 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:42.919 side a negative post of like a chattery, to the 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:46.680 positive and the electron flow, this movement of electrons is 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:49.480 actually where we get our electricity from. This is exactly 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:51.280 how a fuel cell works. In a in a car 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.840 that runs on hydrogen. Um, so you direct these the 0:18:55.920 --> 0:19:00.800 electro light won't let the electrons go through, Okay, So 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:04.919 these negatively charged electrons are run through a circuit. In 0:19:04.960 --> 0:19:07.800 the middle of the circuit, you have, um, this electrical 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.840 pulse that's there, this electrical electrical meter that's reading the 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:15.000 pulse the current right as it passes through to the 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:19.560 positive side to rejoin its friends. And however, I guess 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.000 the more electrons there are present, the more blood alcohol 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:26.119 there is. So this this meter converts you know, a 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:30.040 high voltage to you know the equivalent B A C. Right, 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.600 So the more alcohol is oxidized, basically the great of 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:37.000 the current. And then the microprocessor reads this current and 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:41.639 says being drunk, right or point oh eight? Yeah, this 0:19:41.720 --> 0:19:47.760 is actually the simplest one, you think, So, yeah, that's 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:51.359 for my money, buddy. I'm going with the what is 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:55.440 this one called again and toxiclizer because it sounds the coolest. 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.520 I'm going with the gnome. That's the simplest one. This 0:19:59.840 --> 0:20:03.720 is drink. Um. I got a couple of things here. Um. 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.919 Obviously we're not encouraging anyone to drink and drive. Ever, no, 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:09.800 I think that's really important because they do say that 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:12.040 even one drink can impair you. But they do have 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:15.840 some They floated some stats out there about how much 0:20:16.200 --> 0:20:19.119 you can supposedly drink and and still not blow a 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:22.280 d u. I yeah, they say a hundred and eighty 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:25.680 pound man, which show me a hundred and eighty pound man. 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:29.360 Come on, you gotta get above two bills if you're 0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:32.280 a dude. Yeah, I think so too. I don't. I 0:20:32.320 --> 0:20:35.359 think the trend is going the other way though, jeans 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:37.080 and everything. Well, I'm gonna have a shirt that says 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:40.760 real men way two hundred pounds or more. I'll bet 0:20:40.760 --> 0:20:43.040 we'd get one on our Facebook page that we do. 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:46.399 So a hundred and eighty pound dude can supposedly be 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:49.840 at point eight after four drinks, but they don't give 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:53.639 an amount of time either. Yeah, that if I have 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:55.880 four drinks, and what kind of drinks if I have four? 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:58.840 So let's say that it's that standard like one shot, 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:00.960 you know, one number of ounces of wine and then 0:21:01.480 --> 0:21:05.359 like I think of wine or a twelve ounce of 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:07.840 beer or a shot is supposedly all the same. Dude, 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:11.640 if I have four shots, yeah, I'm I'm definitely impaired. 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:13.040 You don't want me getting behind the wheel of a 0:21:13.080 --> 0:21:16.119 car four shots in an hour, especially exactly. But I 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:18.680 think this should be I think they say, like the 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:21.200 cop that I read an interview with from Atlanta said 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:24.399 that he says, if you can stay within one drink 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:27.520 per hour, you're probably gonna be okay, and you shouldn't 0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:31.199 sweat it, right. And I've also adopted drinking a glass 0:21:31.200 --> 0:21:37.840 of water while drinking a drink. Oh yeah, because it's 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:41.119 it's not necessarily the dilution, although I suspect that that 0:21:41.200 --> 0:21:45.119 does have an effect. Um. But number one, you're expelling 0:21:45.720 --> 0:21:49.080 alcohol more frequently because you're drinking a lot of water. 0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:51.520 What three urine? Yeah, yeah, but that doesn't change your 0:21:51.520 --> 0:21:54.440 blood alcohol hold on. And then secondly you're drinking, you're 0:21:54.480 --> 0:21:57.040 spreading it out over more time because you're not just 0:21:57.119 --> 0:21:59.639 drinking alcohol the whole time. You drinking alcohol and water. 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:02.720 So that's say, doubling the amount of time it takes 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:04.720 to finish a drink. So in theory, you could play 0:22:04.760 --> 0:22:07.920 boggle while you drank and as long as it took 0:22:07.960 --> 0:22:10.800 more times. But I wouldn't play boggle. You couldn't thinking 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:15.720 men tavern, they have all those games there you No, 0:22:15.840 --> 0:22:18.160 I'm not plugging them. It's just a boat local bar 0:22:18.240 --> 0:22:20.200 that has like board games, so it's fun. Do you 0:22:20.200 --> 0:22:22.679 want to give the address? No, I don't. It's on 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:27.480 College Avenue indicator. Um. But the same cop also verified 0:22:27.520 --> 0:22:30.080 what I thought, which is they always do a field 0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:34.080 sobriety test first, which is I mean there's different variations 0:22:34.160 --> 0:22:38.760 the count. Your count better do the ABC's backwards. Yeah, 0:22:38.800 --> 0:22:41.080 I can't do that right now, dead sober, there's no 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:45.639 way you could. I think you should right now. No, 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:50.960 I've tried it. I know it starts with Z and uh. 0:22:51.080 --> 0:22:54.240 Here's another tip too, is you should never ever sing 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:57.280 the alphabet song. If you're pulled over by a cop 0:22:57.320 --> 0:22:59.560 and they asked you to say the alphabet, not a 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:03.560 good move would singing the song like people? I think 0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:07.320 it wasn't that judge, but some public figure recently did that. 0:23:08.160 --> 0:23:10.520 I think one of the like when I Na Mel 0:23:10.560 --> 0:23:14.439 Gibson sang the Alpha that song. Uh, and Josh. Of 0:23:14.480 --> 0:23:17.720 course there are other And like I said, we're not 0:23:17.760 --> 0:23:19.720 telling you how to beat an alcohol test. No. I 0:23:19.760 --> 0:23:21.840 think the point here is for for this stuff we're 0:23:21.840 --> 0:23:25.200 about to talk about. We're talking about the the aviolar 0:23:25.320 --> 0:23:29.120 concentration the amount of alcohol concentrated in your breath. It's 0:23:29.160 --> 0:23:32.320 not constant. It depends on what phase of the breath 0:23:32.359 --> 0:23:36.760