Cloth masks still reduce the radius of your breath outward. As someone who has played D&D before, you fully understand and appreciate the importance of the radial spread of a breath weapon. This is provable, and can be seen with your own eyes if you care to conduct an experiment.
You just compared Covid to a breath weapon? And you call other people out of touch with reality...
The preponderance of the evidence suggests that Covid spreads from person to person primarily as an aerosol, and not via droplet transfer. There are indications that both the likelihood of infection and some severity is based on viral load due to prolonged exposure, and not singular spread due to being coughed on or sneezed on. So the idea that a mask, especially a cloth mask, is doing anything is total wishful thinking. You have far more to worry about from recycled air in buildings, which contains particles of virus far too small for your mask to do anything about. But you'd know all that, if you actually cared about the actual "science" of the virus' spread...
I assumed that the use of the term "breath weapon" was humorous hyperbole.
But since he opened the door for it, I would go with:
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I have a question for you.
You're a lawyer*, not a scientist or an engineer. You're telling a guy who has worked as a risk and safety analyst for 30+ years, developing and executing complex models that involve the transport and fate of aerosols, that you know fluid mechanics and aerosol physics better than he knows fluid mechanics and aerosol physics, based purely on your gut instinct and what matches your world view.
My question is: How the fuck?
* or at least to my best recollection Mistwell is a lawyer, but I could be wrong
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That said, Mistwell is correct in that a mask does at least deflect your breath. So if you are up close to someone and talking to them, even a cloth mask may delay some exposure.
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-surgical-masks-face-masks-and-barrier-face-coveringshttps://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/face-masks-barrier-face-coverings-surgical-masks-and-respirators-covid-19#usingSpecifically, from the first link:
"If worn properly, a surgical mask is meant to help block large-particle droplets, splashes, sprays, or splatter that may contain germs (viruses and bacteria), keeping it from reaching your mouth and nose. Surgical masks may also help reduce exposure of your saliva and respiratory secretions to others. While a surgical mask may be effective in blocking splashes and large-particle droplets, a face mask, by design, it does not filter or block very small particles in the air that may be transmitted by coughs, sneezes, or certain medical procedures. Surgical masks also do not provide complete protection from germs and other contaminants because of the loose fit between the surface of the mask and your face."
However, as noted by Eirkrautha, it is virus concentration x exposure time (as a linear approximation) that drives the likelihood of infection. And that virus concentration is driven by the aerosol (small particles that remain airborne for long periods of time) portion of the viral release, not the droplet (large particles that plate out relatively rapidly) portion. The long-term concentration is also driven by the number of air changes of the space you occupy. For example, nobody is catching covid on airplanes, not because they are wearing masks, but because there are 12 to 15 air changes/hr and they cycle the air through HEPA filters.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/airlines-airports/how-airplane-cabin-air-workshttps://www.quora.com/How-many-times-per-hour-is-the-air-inside-a-airliner-changedThe same thing, to a lesser extent (and without the HEPA filters) applies to restaurants, office cube farms, your house, etc., dependent on the number of air changes/hr.
https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/ashrae-air-changes-per-hour-office-residential/