Liquid nitrogen!!

[Mk]

No, I don't have any, but I WANT SOME. I have no idea how to proceed. How much does it cost, flask included, and where can I get it? Do I have to use all of it right away, or can I store it for more than a few days? What kind of saftey should be taken into consideration besides the obvious? :biggrin: :biggrin:

[Astronuc]

Well, one should probably enroll in a university physics program. :biggrin:

One could get liquid nitrogen from a company like "Liquid Air (Air Liquide)", or BOC. One needs a Dewar Flask.

Precautions - Do not drink it! :biggrin: Do not pour it on your skin. :wink:

[Mk]

Precautions - Do not drink it! :biggrin: Do not pour it on your skin. :wink: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Actually I guess there are some people that actually did that. :cry: :cry:

Then again people involved are usually smart enough not to think about it.

[franznietzsche]

Incidently you can make perfect ice cream with it. Just milk, sugar, whatever frui ingredients you want, stir while pouring in the nitro. Keep stirring. Works wonderfully. Thanks for the tip on where to get it. :biggrin:

[Bystander]

Hit the "Jello Pages" for "welding supply;" used to be around 10-20 cents a liter, probably gone up; dewar rental ain't that bad, cheaper than buying one and having it go "soft." Storage "life" in a "hard" dewar is around a week for 50 liter, don't count on more than two to three weeks for a 200.

[russ_watters]

My dad used to bring some home every now and then when he worked for an industrial gas company. The big, insulated thermos bottle he had held 5 or 10 gallons or so and kept for a few days.

And if you can get it, it can be cheaper than bottled water.

[Mk]

don't count on more than two to three weeks for a 200.
Oh man, I was going to use 200 L! :rofl:

[Gokul43201]

How much do you need? Any big school that uses LN2 on a regular basis will let you have some - it's real cheap when you buy it bulk. Much less so if you want small quantities. Some places like welding supply stores or maybe even medical suppliers will sell maybe by the gallon or so. If you're buying small amounts - a gallon or less - the typical cost is somewhere between $15 - $30 per liter, but if you want several tens of liter, you can get it for a buck a liter or thereabouts.

How long you can store LN2 depends on how you're storing it. If you can borrow a 5/10/20L dewar from a friendly neighborhood physics or chemistry lab, that will typically boil off no more than half a liter a day. If you're going to use a thermos flask, you won't likely be able to store any amount for more than a day (two, if you're real lucky).

Safety: there are several good links on the web that teach you the basics of LN2 safety. The most important thing to keep in mind is to not store in an airtight container - that makes a bomb.

http://webs.wichita.edu/facsme/nitro/safe.htm
http://www.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/ehs/handbook/gases/cryosafe.htm

Probably the neatest LN2 site on the web:
http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/~ubws/nitrogen.html

[Mk]

About 50L sounds like the right amount for me right now.

Thanks for that last site, I haven't seen it for a while!

What kind of thermos flask are you talking about? Surely not a normal THERMOS?

[Gokul43201]

What kind of thermos flask are you talking about? Surely not a normal THERMOS?Yup, a stainless steel (as opposed to a fiberglass) thermos flask with a vent hole in the cap will work for short durations. But I don't think you get these in anything bigger than a couple liters.

[Manchot]

Honestly, I wouldn't even bother. Up until a few months ago, I thought that liquid nitrogen was really cool (no pun intended). Finally, I got to play with some in the lab in which I work, and I was, quite frankly, pretty disappointed. Once you get the initial fun out of the way, it becomes quite boring.

[franznietzsche]

Honestly, I wouldn't even bother. Up until a few months ago, I thought that liquid nitrogen was really cool (no pun intended). Finally, I got to play with some in the lab in which I work, and I was, quite frankly, pretty disappointed. Once you get the initial fun out of the way, it becomes quite boring.


ICE CREAM!!!!

[zoobyshoe]

I've read that if you drive a Stirling Cycle engine with an external motor of any kind it will cause the hot end to become extremely hot and the cold end to become cold enough to liquify the air that comes in contact with it. The liquid air was described as just dripping off the cold end. This would be a mix of O2 and N2, but should serve for all the same fun and experiments, including ice cream. I've always wanted to try it.

[Rach3]

I've read that if you drive a Stirling Cycle engine with an external motor of any kind it will cause the hot end to become extremely hot and the cold end to become cold enough to liquify the air that comes in contact with it. The liquid air was described as just dripping off the cold end. This would be a mix of O2 and N2, but should serve for all the same fun and experiments, including ice cream. I've always wanted to try it.

No, it's quite different. Liquified air, and LOX, is a very dangerous oxidizer.

[Mk]

That is why the ice cream is made for your enemies. :devil:

[Tomsk]

Do not pour it on your skin. :wink:

Actually... you can, if you're careful, as it boils before it touches your skin, creating a pocket of air to sit on. Thing is, you have to have your hand pointed down so it runs straight off. I wouldn't do it if you have hairy arms, and roll your sleeves up, it'll get into fabric and freeze it, which would probably then freeze your skin.

I did hear a story about a student getting mixed up with that, and he thought you could put it on your tongue, or even swallow it. He was wrong. Ouch.

[Mk]

But you better not pour too much on yourself, drips are ok, but not a liter.

[Rach3]

A labmate once accidentally spashed a bit of LN2 from an open flask he was carrying, onto his arm. Says it burned and was very painful. No lasting injury though.

[Gokul43201]

I did hear a story about a student getting mixed up with that, and he thought you could put it on your tongue, or even swallow it. He was wrong. Ouch.I've SEEN a professor swallow about a handful of LN2.

[Tomsk]

I saw a professor poor quite a lot over his hand, but it was at a steep angle. I've dipped my finger in some quickly, but apparently this student had to go to hospital, which must have been horrible.

[zoobyshoe]

No, it's quite different. Liquified air, and LOX, is a very dangerous oxidizer.
I'm glad I've never tried it, then. What are some of the dangers?

[mrjeffy321]

Since there is about a 23 °F difference in the boiling points of Nitrogen and Oxygen, if your careful, you can condense out the Nitrogen in the air before you get liquid Oxygen.

We have a very large liquid Nitrogen tank here and all too often I will see smaller containers on dolly's filled with liquid N2 in the hallways.
I have no idea who I would ask to get any, but doing so would beg the question "why?", to which I doubt any answer I would give you result in me getting any.

[Mk]

It would be interesting to freeze my tennis shoes. :approve:

[Mk]

I bet I could stick my plastic sandles in, then smash them into itty bitty pieces on the concrete floor! But I like my sandals. :cry:

[tribdog]

No, it's quite different. Liquified air, and LOX, is a very dangerous oxidizer.
Rust flavored Ice cream might not ever catch on, but it wouldn't hurt you would it?

[tribdog]

I wonder what you could do with liquid nitrogen, diet pepsi and mentos.

[Mk]

Funny yes, but wouldn't the pepsi freeze before the mentos could react? Or at least the foamy explosion would freeze.

[tribdog]

If the pepsi freezes, do you have any Mapp gas?

[Mk]

Yeah! We can strap the MAPP canisters around the N2 Claymore!

[Astronuc]

Actually... you can, if you're careful, as it boils before it touches your skin, creating a pocket of air to sit on. Thing is, you have to have your hand pointed down so it runs straight off. I wouldn't do it if you have hairy arms, and roll your sleeves up, it'll get into fabric and freeze it, which would probably then freeze your skin. I probably should have said "Don't immerse one's skin or limbs in LN." I think I've seen people pour on their hands to show the boiling effect, but it's not something I would encourage.

I did hear a story about a student getting mixed up with that, and he thought you could put it on your tongue, or even swallow it. He was wrong. Ouch. It would make quite a burp if one swallowed enough. :rofl:

[gravenewworld]

Well, one should probably enroll in a university physics program. :biggrin:

One could get liquid nitrogen from a company like "Liquid Air (Air Liquide)", or BOC. One needs a Dewar Flask.

Precautions - Do not drink it! :biggrin: Do not pour it on your skin. :wink:



My gen chem professor actually took some liquid nitrogen and drank it in class then spit it out. You can drink it and spit it out really fast because the saliva coating on your tongue and the rest of your mouth protects your for a very small amount of time.

[tribdog]

I've never tried swallowing really cold liquid nitrogen. that's boring. I got mine boiling HOT first. but I'm pretty brave

[Moonbear]

If the pepsi freezes, do you have any Mapp gas?
:surprised You never learn, do you?! :rofl:

[Pythagorean]

Do not pour it on your skin. :wink:

i have a physics professor that does this, and lets students try it if they want. It rolls right off. I don't know under what conditions it wouldn't, but I didn't want to find out, so I never stood in that line.

[Rach3]

i have a physics professor that does this, and lets students try it if they want. It rolls right off. I don't know under what conditions it wouldn't, but I didn't want to find out, so I never stood in that line.

Try it on a floor (much safer) - the boiling bubbles float on a layer of vapor and slide along without friction, as in an air-hockey table.

[Mk]

Leidinfrost effect!

[brewnog]

I got a flask of liquid nitrogen from my mate's mum, who's a GP. Hours of fun smashing flowers, once I'd finished burning off my own wart!

I've also seen a guy drinking it (well, taking into his mouth before blowing it out) but I seem to remember there's a knack. Didn't dare try it.

[Mk]

What kind of flowers should I use?

Really, hours?

[franznietzsche]

If the pepsi freezes, do you have any Mapp gas?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


I tell people about that incident all the time. You're famous you know.

[tribdog]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


I tell people about that incident all the time. You're famous you know.
but only to people that hang with you. it's a two edged sword.

two edged sword? wtf am I talking about. After I type lines like that I always wonder what it means and if I really wrote it.

[Mk]

Every sword has two edges doesn't it? More than that too. I guess fencing swords (what are they called again?) are round right? So that either counts as one, or too many to count.

[franznietzsche]

but only to people that hang with you. it's a two edged sword.

two edged sword? wtf am I talking about. After I type lines like that I always wonder what it means and if I really wrote it.


Hence why you are famous. From california to New Mexico, to wherever Moonbear lives.

[Mk]

As well as Guam!

[franznietzsche]

As well as Guam!


Saipan too incidently, since I have friends and relatives living there.

[zoobyshoe]

Every sword has two edges doesn't it?
Only double edged swords have both edges sharpened so that they cut either way you swing them. These are battle weapons as opposed to fencing foils which are essentially for sport. Fencing foils are square in cross section. They can stab, but not cut. (Fencers put little protective guards over the tips when they fence so they don't actually injure anyone.) Anyway, alot of styles of swords have only one edge sharpened