• Question: If dust particles are our skin, how does it turn grey?

    Asked by sciencetube145 to Gioia, Iain, Jo, Leo, Mariam on 18 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      Good question. The reason we look pink (well, not all of us) is because of the colour of the blood underneath the skin. When skin comes off, it is white. The reason dust looks grey is because it isn’t just skin. There is also dirt and the remains and waste of dust mites in there.

    • Photo: Joanna Watson

      Joanna Watson answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      I don’t think everything in dust is skin – but the bits that are skin will mostly be really dry old skin that is disintegrating – that might be part of the reason it’s grey.

    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      It is true that dust is mostly composed of dead skin. It’s grey because it’s the very top layer of skin cells that get sloughed off and become dust… the things that give your skin colour are deeper below the surface.

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