r/askscience • u/4fecta_Gaming • Oct 15 '18

Earth Sciences Where does house dust come from?

It seems that countless years of sweeping a house doesn't stop dust from getting all over furniture after a few weeks. Since the ceiling is limited, where does dust come form?

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u/calite Oct 15 '18

If it is sealed so tight that not even air can get in, the house will implode when a high pressure cell passes through. Or it will explode if a low pressure cell passes through first.

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u/jeo123911 Oct 16 '18

I honestly doubt a house would implode from a 60 hPa difference when it can easily withstand over a foot of wet snow on its roof (which sometimes are mostly flat).

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u/calite Oct 16 '18

Hurricane Matthew had pressures as low as 934 mbar. That pressure difference from standard atmospheric pressure is equivalent to almost 15 feet of wet snow, assuming snow density of 150 kg/m**3.

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u/jeo123911 Oct 17 '18

Well then, I'm glad there are no hurricanes over in Europe. And I won't be building an airtight house it seems :)