Water and metabolism of humans

RileyG said:

Hello all!

I thought I should share some random facts.

Since water is a renewable resource, and humans (and animals) consume water to survive.

Is it true that the water we consume possibly passed through countless humans and animals since it's being recycled over and over again?

Also, human beings create water via our metabolism. Is that also consumed?

Peace

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That’s a fascinating question — you’re really asking about whether the same water molecules that were part of Tutankhamun’s embalming natron solution could have eventually circulated into modern people.


The short answer: yes, it’s possible, though in an unimaginably diluted sense.


Here’s why:

1. Water molecules are constantly recycled.
   • Water doesn’t get destroyed in normal Earth processes — it just moves through the hydrological cycle (evaporation, condensation, rain, rivers, oceans, groundwater, living organisms).
   • Some of the H₂O from the natron solution would have evaporated or seeped into soil.
2. Timescale is more than enough.
   • 1323 BC is ~3,300 years ago. Water molecules cycle through the atmosphere in about 9–10 days, and the ocean in ~3,000 years. So there’s been time for essentially complete mixing into Earth’s water reservoirs.
3. Mixing into the global water system.
   • Once evaporated, those water molecules would have mixed into clouds, rains, rivers, and oceans.
   • Over millennia, that means they’ve spread widely across the planet.
4. Probability of re-use in humans.
   • Every sip of water today contains countless molecules that were once inside other organisms, ancient and modern.
   • By rough estimates, the number of water molecules in even a glass of water (~10²⁵) is so vast that the odds of some being the same as those once in Tutankhamun’s embalming solution are virtually certain.

So while no one today has a meaningful portion of “Tutankhamun’s embalming water” inside them, it’s almost certain that trace molecules from that natron solution have ended up being drunk, cycled through plants, animals, and people — including modern humans.


Would you like me to show you a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation of the likelihood of a glass of water today containing at least a few molecules from that natron solution?

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sjastro said:

I asked GPT-5 a silly question and got a very serious answer.
"Is it possible the water used in the natron solution used to preserve Tutankhamun's internal organs in 1323 BC have ended up in modern day humans."

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Nice — let’s do a quick, careful back-of-the-envelope calculation. I’ll state assumptions up front, then show the math step-by-step and give the conclusion you can trust qualitatively.

Assumptions (reasonable, simple)​

• Embalming natron solution volume that contacted the organs — assume 10 L (typical order-of-magnitude; final answer scales linearly with this).
• Mass of Earth’s water ≈ 1.386 × 10²¹ kg, so volume ≈ 1.386 × 10²⁴ L (1 kg water ≈ 1 L).
• 1 mole H₂O = 18.015 g. Avogadro’s number = 6.022 × 10²³ molecules/mol.
• A glass of water = 250 mL = 0.25 L.
• Complete mixing of those molecules into the global water reservoir over millennia (optimistic but reasonable for a rough probability).

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Step-by-step arithmetic​

1. Molecules per liter of water
   • 1 L water = 1000 g.
   • Moles per liter = 1000 g ÷ 18.015 g/mol.
     • 1000 ÷ 18.015 = 55.508... moles (I’ll keep 5 significant figures where helpful).
   • Molecules per liter = 55.508... mol × 6.022×10²³ mol⁻¹
     • 55.508 × 6.022 = 334.37 (compute digits: 55.508×6 = 333.048; + 55.508×0.022 = 1.221 ≈ 334.269 — round to 334.37)
     • So molecules per liter ≈ 3.344 × 10²⁵ molecules/L.
2. Total water molecules on Earth
   • Earth water volume ≈ 1.386 × 10²⁴ L.
   • Total molecules ≈ (1.386 × 10²⁴ L) × (3.344 × 10²⁵ molecules/L)
     • Multiply coefficients: 1.386 × 3.344 = 4.634... (1.386×3 = 4.158; plus 1.386×0.344 = 0.476... total ≈ 4.634).
     • Exponent: 10²⁴ × 10²⁵ = 10⁴⁹.
     • So total ≈ 4.63 × 10⁴⁹ water molecules on Earth.
3. Number of molecules in the embalming fluid (assumed 10 L)
   • Molecules in 1 L = 3.344 × 10²⁵ (from step 1).
   • For 10 L: 10 × 3.344 × 10²⁵ = 3.344 × 10²6 molecules.
4. Fraction of Earth’s water molecules that came from Tutankhamun’s solution
   • Fraction f=3.344×10264.63×1049f = \dfrac{3.344 \times 10^{26}}{4.63 \times 10^{49}}.
   • Compute coefficient: 3.344 ÷ 4.63 ≈ 0.722 (3.344/4.63 → about 0.722).
   • Exponent: 10²6 / 10⁴9 = 10⁻²³.
   • So f≈0.722×10−23=7.22×10−24. f \approx 0.722 \times 10^{-23} = 7.22 \times 10^{-24}.
   In words: about 7.2 × 10⁻²⁴ of the Earth’s water molecules would be those that originally were in that 10 L of natron solution (after full global mixing).
5. How many of those molecules are in a glass (0.25 L)?
   • Molecules in 0.25 L = 0.25 × 3.344 × 10²⁵ = 8.36 × 10²4 molecules.
   • Expected number of Tutankhamun molecules in the glass = (molecules in glass) × f
     = (8.36 × 10²4) × (7.22 × 10⁻²4).
   • Multiply coefficients: 8.36 × 7.22 ≈ 60.4 (8.36×7 = 58.52; +8.36×0.22 ≈1.839 → 60.36).
   • Exponent: 10²4 × 10⁻²4 = 10⁰ = 1.
   • So expected count ≈ 60 molecules.
6. Probability none are present (Poisson approximation)
   • If expected number λ = 60, probability zero = e^(−λ) ≈ e^(−60) ≈ ~8 × 10⁻²7, effectively zero.
   • So for the 10 L embalming-volume assumption, a typical glass almost certainly contains some molecules from that solution.

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Sensitivity to the embalming-volume assumption​

• If the embalming fluid was 1 L instead of 10 L → expected ≈ 6 molecules per glass (λ=6). Probability zero ≈ e^(−6) ≈ 0.0025 (~0.25% chance none — still very likely at least one).
• If it was only 0.1 L → expected ≈ 0.6 molecules per glass. Probability zero ≈ e^(−0.6) ≈ 0.55 (≈45% chance there is at least one molecule).
• If the embalming amount was huge (100 L), expectations scale up (≈600 molecules per glass).

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Important caveats / realities​

• This is a molecular statement only. Molecules of ordinary H₂O are indistinguishable chemically once mixed (unless you track isotopes). You would not be able to identify a particular molecule as “from Tutankhamun” today.
• I assumed full mixing with all Earth water; in reality, local hydrology and temporary sequestration (burial, adsorption in sediments, incorporation in minerals) may delay or partition some molecules, but over ~3,300 years global mixing is a fair simplifying assumption.
• If you meant “could modern humans carry a macroscopic part of that original liquid” (like a measurable mass, milliliters), then no — those molecules are dispersed extremely thinly across all water on Earth. My calculation shows only a few dozen molecules per glass under reasonable assumptions, which is unimaginably tiny compared to any measurable volume.

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Bottom line (short)​

Yes — virtually certain that a few individual water molecules from Tutankhamun’s natron solution have been incorporated into modern people’s bodies (and into the water we drink). The expected number in a typical 250 mL glass is on the order of tens of molecules if ~10 L were used — plenty to make it practically certain, but utterly negligible in amount and impossible to trace.

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RileyG said:

LOL! I love discussion! Is that so wrong?

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sjastro said:

Here is GPT-5's back of an envelope calculations.

Step-by-step arithmetic​

1. Molecules per liter of water
   • 1 L water = 1000 g.
   • Moles per liter = 1000 g ÷ 18.015 g/mol.
     • 1000 ÷ 18.015 = 55.508... moles (I’ll keep 5 significant figures where helpful).
   • Molecules per liter = 55.508... mol × 6.022×10²³ mol⁻¹
     • 55.508 × 6.022 = 334.37 (compute digits: 55.508×6 = 333.048; + 55.508×0.022 = 1.221 ≈ 334.269 — round to 334.37)
     • So molecules per liter ≈ 3.344 × 10²⁵ molecules/L.
2. Total water molecules on Earth
   • Earth water volume ≈ 1.386 × 10²⁴ L.
   • Total molecules ≈ (1.386 × 10²⁴ L) × (3.344 × 10²⁵ molecules/L)
     • Multiply coefficients: 1.386 × 3.344 = 4.634... (1.386×3 = 4.158; plus 1.386×0.344 = 0.476... total ≈ 4.634).
     • Exponent: 10²⁴ × 10²⁵ = 10⁴⁹.
     • So total ≈ 4.63 × 10⁴⁹ water molecules on Earth.
3. Number of molecules in the embalming fluid (assumed 10 L)
   • Molecules in 1 L = 3.344 × 10²⁵ (from step 1).
   • For 10 L: 10 × 3.344 × 10²⁵ = 3.344 × 10²⁶ molecules.
4. Fraction of Earth’s water molecules that came from Tutankhamun’s solution
   • Fraction f = 3.344×10²⁶/4.63×10⁴⁹.
   • Compute coefficient: 3.344 ÷ 4.63 ≈ 0.722 (3.344/4.63 → about 0.722).
   • Exponent: 10²⁶ / 10⁴⁹ = 10⁻²³.
   • So f ≈ 0.722×10⁻²³= 7.22×10⁻²⁴.
   In words: about 7.2 × 10⁻²⁴ of the Earth’s water molecules would be those that originally were in that 10 L of natron solution (after full global mixing).
5. How many of those molecules are in a glass (0.25 L)?
   • Molecules in 0.25 L = 0.25 × 3.344 × 10²⁵ = 8.36 × 10²⁴ molecules.
   • Expected number of Tutankhamun molecules in the glass = (molecules in glass) × f
     = (8.36 × 10²⁴) × (7.22 × 10⁻²⁴).
   • Multiply coefficients: 8.36 × 7.22 ≈ 60.4 (8.36×7 = 58.52; +8.36×0.22 ≈1.839 → 60.36).
   • Exponent: 10²⁴ × 10⁻²⁴ = 10⁰ = 1.
   • So expected count ≈ 60 molecules.
6. Probability none are present (Poisson approximation)
   • If expected number λ = 60, probability zero = exp(−λ) ≈ exp(−60) ≈ ~8 × 10⁻²⁷, effectively zero.
   • So for the 10 L embalming-volume assumption, a typical glass almost certainly contains some molecules from that solution.

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Let’s take my framework and push it to all living humans.

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Step 1. Water content of an average human​

A typical adult is about 60% water by mass.

• Average human mass ≈ 70 kg.
• Water mass ≈ 0.6 × 70 ≈ 42 kg ≈ 42 L (since 1 L ≈ 1 kg).

So per person, ~42 L of water.

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Step 2. Molecules in that water​

Molecules per liter we already calculated:

3.344 × 10²⁵ molecules/L
So per person:

42×3.344 × 10²⁵≈ 1.40×10²⁷ molecules of water.

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Step 3. Fraction from Tutankhamun’s natron solution​

Fraction of Earth’s water molecules that came from that 10 L solution:

f ≈ 7.22 × 10⁻²⁴.

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Step 4. Expected Tutankhamun molecules per person​

Expected count=(1.40×10²⁷)×(7.22 × 10⁻²⁴).
Multiply coefficients: 1.40 × 7.22 ≈ 10.1.
Exponent: 10²⁷× 10⁻²⁴ = 10³.


So:

≈ 1.01 x 10⁴ (≈ 10,000 molecules per person).

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Step 5. For all living humans​

World population ≈ 8.1 billion ≈ 8.1 × 10⁹.

(1.01 x 10⁴)×(8.1 × 10⁹) ≈ 8.2×10¹³.
So globally, ~80 trillion water molecules from Tutankhamun’s embalming solution are currently in all living humans.

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✅ Answer:

• Each living person today likely carries on the order of 10,000 water molecules from Tutankhamun’s natron solution (under the 10 L assumption).
• Across all humanity, that’s about 8 × 10¹³ molecules total.

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Do you want me to also run the 1 L and 0.1 L embalming-fluid scenarios (like we did before), to see how those scale in per-person numbers?

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Warden_of_the_Storm said:

Riley, I'm doing this in the nicest way possible...

But... you can use Google for these questions. It exists for a reason.

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RileyG said:

Is it true that the water we consume possibly passed through countless humans and animals since it's being recycled over and over again?

Click to expand...

RileyG said:

Also, human beings create water via our metabolism. Is that also consumed?

Click to expand...