This might be silly but is there a way to simulate physically how far aerosol droplets spread?
Like, if I buy a certain kind of air freshener spray, can I spray that to simulate a sneeze, and say "If you can smell a fresh pine scent, you have a 50/50 chance that you would catch COVID / flu / RSV / etc at this range"
Boost if you like
I don’t think it’s possible to estimate probability of you catching it, because that depends on things about you, such as your immunity.
Also, when it comes to COVID, aerosol and droplets are two different things. Droplets are what you probably think they are, the reason you cover your mouth when you sneeze. They are big enough they will fall from the air. Aerosols are smaller and will continue to float in the air, basically invisible. 1/2
It is possible to get a visual of the droplets by sneezing in a cold environment, where you can see your breath. But it’s the tiny aerosols that linger invisibly in the air that pose the real threat of catching or spreading COVID. Aerosols are produced even just from breathing, no need for a sneeze.
Hope that, while not exactly an answer to your question, was somewhat helpful. 2/2
One other factor: people vary a great deal in terms of how much virus they shed. So even if you visualize the droplets or aerosols, you really have no idea how much virus there is.
In the early days of COVID, they said 6 feet was the distance to use to judge whether you were at risk. This, clearly, turned out to be extremely flawed guidance. That’s because it didn’t take into account lingering aerosols or how they travel on air currents. But it may have come from existing guidance for diseases that are spread by droplets. So if you really want a distance that’s a place to start.
Generally what people say is that it is like smoke. How far away can you smell smoke? On a still day, no wind, I have looked around and seen that the smoking person was a block away
This is, of course, not what people want to hear
I've seen some studies that indicate that you can catch covid from a single viral particle. You don't need a whole bunch
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J Miller
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NilaJones