Citation

Stönner C, Williams J. Nature 2016; 535(7612): 355.

Affiliation

Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/535355a

PMID

27443730

Abstract

During live public screenings of the 2016 UEFA European Championships, the emission rates of particular chemicals in the audience's breath vary sharply — apparently in response to events on the football pitch.

Football matches induce fans to roar in jubilation, hold their breath in suspense and sigh with disappointment. On 26 June, we tracked reactions from a cinema audience during the Germany–Slovakia game by monitoring changes in air composition resulting from their exhalations (for methodology, see J. Williams et al. Sci. Rep. 6, 25464; 2016).

In moments of high excitement, exhaled carbon dioxide seems to spike as people's heartbeats and breathing accelerate (see 'Breath chemistry of football fans'). So do emission rates of isoprene, which is released from muscles as fans spring from their seats when a goal is scored. Breath chemistry therefore appears to ride the same emotional roller coaster as the live broadcast.

Keywords: Soccer

Language: en