respirableness en · NOUN
Etymology
From respirable + -ness.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) The quality of being respirable; respirability.
The usual method of testing the respirableness of air suspected to be contaminated with carbon dioxide is to lower a lighted candle into it; if the candle goes out the atmosphere is poisonous; if it continues to burn, however, the air is not necessarily harmless, as a candle will burn in an atmosphere that is dangerous to life.
1902, “Toxicology”, in Chalmers Watson, editor, Encyclopaedia Medica, volume 12, New York: Longmans, Green & Co., →OCLC, page 327: