• Question: Do scientists all wear white coats and work in labs?

    Asked by 344ntrd49 to Chloe, Irene, Pierre, NULL, Uday on 7 Nov 2015. This question was also asked by HannahPotter.
    • Photo: Irene Regan

      Irene Regan answered on 7 Nov 2015:

      I wear a white coat and work in a lab.
      But not every scientist wears a white coat or works in a lab. If you work in a lab you usually have to wear a white coat. This is to keep you safe from whatever you are working with. A white coat is known as Personal Protective Equipment or PPE in short. It protects the scientist’s clothes and body from maybe getting stained with e.g. blood.
      Some scientists teach/lecture, work on television, write books and no longer work in labs.

    • Photo: Chloe Huseyin

      Chloe Huseyin answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      Not all scientists have to wear white lab coats, but this depends on the type of scientist you are. Some scientists don’t even need a laboratory for their work!

      I work in a lab and I study peoples poo (eww right? but someone has to do it!) so I have to wear a white lab coat, safety glasses and gloves to protect me and my clothes.

    • Photo: NULL

      NULL answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      No, I don’t!

      I used to a few years ago, but now I’m either teaching in normal clothes, or I’m working at my computer in my office.

    • Photo: Uday Bangavadi

      Uday Bangavadi answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      Not really,

      It depends on the what kind of work they do. Few research labs use the lab coat as the colour code to identify them under different category.

    • Photo: Pierre Casaubielh

      Pierre Casaubielh answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      LoL … sorry, big LOL! 😀

      This is a stereotype.
      In “Back to the Future”, yes there is a very funny Scientist with a white coat and glasses. 🙂 (I like this movie, by the way).

      White coats are weared mainly for safety reasons; this can be outside or in a laboratory. Sometimes we do some experiments which could be dangerous.
      You can also wear a white coat if you do not want to get too dirty.

      The work can be done in a lot of places: laboratory, on the sea, in an office… everything depends on what you are working on.

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