You can use charcoal to filter unpleasant smells and tastes from air and water. why doesn't it absorb the air?
436646
Charcoal filters are basically clean carbon with many more times surface area when compared to their mass.  The charcoal absorbs other carbon based impurities which are the main contributors to bad tastes and smells.  Things in clean air (nitrogen, oxygen, etc...) are not carbon based and therefore do not absorb onto the filter.  Water does not absorb due to the same reason.  Alcohol will absorb to the charcoal filter, depending on the effectiveness of  the filter as well as the flow rate not all the alcohol will be removed from the drink.  When looking at a complex mixture of compounds there is a competition for the absorbent.  Some things are more likely to absorb than others.
1070763
No, not Freon.  Some foods naturally absorb some of the smells from other foods.  That's why a good homemaker will store certain kind of foods in airtigt containers.  Some foods give off stronger oders than others, some absorb more than others.  Baking soda absorbs a LOT of food odors and many people keep an open box somewhere in the fridge.  Of course, this box needs to be replaced once in a while.
676564
it is because the air u breath and relases has carbon in it n carbon is contigeous.
929757
There are hairs in the nose that filter out such particles. When breathed in through the mouth, there are other things as well in the windpipe, etc that prevent many contaminants from reaching the lungs.
775831
Human sense of smell is designed to identify things which are bad for you so you can keep away from them/not eat them/not smell them, in order to avoid disease.\n\nEveryone's gut contains bacteria - often a specific combination of bacteria that your own gut has built up for itself and finds useful in digesting food and fending off 'alien' bacteria.  \n\nEssentially this means that your nose is smelling someone else's gut bacteria and recognises them as alien and not good were you to ingest them for any reason. \n\nSo it's just your nose's way of telling you that these bacteria are bad and not to get too close - that's why some smells are 'bad' and some are not.
985521
Your body absorbs the vapour like a sponge...:D
12571
there are lots of devices that "smell," like the ones we use for natural gas, CO, nitrogen sulfide, etc.. i guess it depends on what you are trying to smell..
297283
Not pure carbon in pure water, no.  Don't believe me, try sticking a pencil lead (graphite is pure carbon, not actually lead) into a glass of water and see if it dissolves.\n\nBut carbon will dissolve in some solutions.\n\nAs an aside, you think the guy above me might be trying too hard?  A more concise answer is usually preferable.
581449
Anything that is electrically charged, such as most "natural" substances (pollen, dust, dander, etc-and smoke particles).  Most polluting gases, such as sulpher, carbon monoxide, etc, would not be effected.  From the tone of the question, I have to assume this is a person with some breathing difficulty due to environmental reaction- in that case, most of the offending substances would be removed or reduced by electrostatic purification.  They work much more effieciently if you have an ionizer as well, which increases the charge density on particles.
1035117
To cover the smell of a fart.
441569
Yes, they can. Just like any other canal, air can get in there and be expelled when you sit up, have intercourse, etc. There should be no smell though. Again, it's good to know the facts before you answer someone's question with a wrong answer. But your answer is Y-E-S, it happens.
406542
there should be a vent in your house or whatever where it sucks in air from the room, but it is filtered before returning to the room(s)
569004
The senses are connected.  When I inhale through my nose I can smell but can't taste.  When I exhale through my nose I can taste but can't smell.  Try it and see if it works the same for you.  Maybe I'm just weird.
287430
Try putting it in a box or container large enough to put a box of baking soda in there also. You don't want to put any chemicals or sprays on the material, this could damage it.Baking soda absorbs odors. Change if necessary and let air at it occasionally.
1151586
A profound point. I think this is the reason: when you narrow the neck of a balloon when you let the air out, it makes a sort of farting sound. If the air inside this balloon smelled, it wouldn't smell as bad letting it out this way since only a little of it comes out at a time. However, if there's a huge opening in the balloon, all the air comes out at once, releasing all the smelly air into the world.
815455
blocked pores and bacteria.
604475
Carbon itself doesn't do anything at room temperature up to boiling point with sulfuric acid. Might just swim on it and adsorb a little of it (this being a process which gives out a little heat).\n\nIn case your carbon contains impurities, these might react with sulfuric acid and give out some smell and also colour and sediments, depending what the impurities are.\n\n(But the creation of CS2 as mentioned in GforGenius' answer in my opinion is just a joke against people who want to escape from doing their homework from their books and go the easy way on yahoo. If stinks something, the odour mostly comes from H2S (=rotten egg), because impure carbon depending on its origin might contain metallsulfides).