PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateOKAY
↓ More info and sources below ↓

We’re on PATREON! Join the community  ►► https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart
SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss a video!  ►► http://bit.ly/iotbs_sub

Wearing a mask is a cheap and easy way to help stop the spread of airborne infections like COVID-19. It’s also a sign that you want to help protect other people and have them protect you… that we’re all in this together. Here are some awesome slow-motion schlieren imaging experiments to demonstrate why masks work! Share with someone who needs to see this.

References: https://sites.google.com/view/why-masks-work-references/home

Special thanks:
Matthew Staymates - National Institute of Standards and Technology
Dr. Richard Davis - Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center (https://twitter.com/richdavisphd/status/1276629360212979712)
Derek Muller - @Veritasium  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tgOyU34D44)
David McRaney - You…

Which mask works best? To visualise droplets and aerosols, UNSW researchers used LED lighting system & a high-speed camera, filming people coughing and sneezing in different scenarios — using no mask, 2 different types of cloth masks, and a surgical mask.

We confirmed that even speaking generates substantial droplets. Coughing and sneezing (in that order) generate even more.

A three-ply surgical mask was significantly better than a one-layered cloth mask at reducing droplet emissions caused by speaking, coughing and sneezing, followed by a double-layer cloth face covering.

A single-layer cloth face covering also reduced the droplet spread caused by speaking, coughing and sneezing but was not as good as a two-layered cloth mask or surgical mask.

We do not know how this translates to infection risk, which will depend on how many asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infected people are around. However, it shows a single layer is not as good a barrier as a double layer.

Here's more on what we found: http://unsw.to/masks…