What are smell particles?

Smell particles are tiny bits that float in the air and help us know what things smell like.

Imagine you're eating your favorite snack, maybe chocolate chip cookies. When you take a bite, some of the smell particles from the cookie go into the air around you. These little smell particles are so small that you can’t see them, but they travel through the air and reach your nose.

When the smell particles get to your nose, they go inside and send messages to your brain. Your brain says, “Oh, those are chocolate chip cookies!” That’s how you know what something smells like, because of these tiny travelers in the air called smell particles.

It's kind of like when you drop a little bit of food on the floor. You can’t see it, but your dog can smell it from across the room. Those smell particles are doing the same thing for you!