Practical Endothermic reactions

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on practical applications of spontaneous endothermic reactions, exploring their use in everyday life, particularly in products like instant cold packs and other potential uses.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that spontaneous endothermic reactions are essential in the design of instant cold packs for treating injuries.
  • Another participant suggests the use of endothermic reactions in drink packs that could be activated shortly before consumption to cool beverages.
  • A claim is made that protein synthesis is an endothermic process, highlighting its biological importance.
  • A question is raised about whether the cooling effect from gas evaporation qualifies as an endothermic reaction, with a proposed application in assessing temperature sensitivity of electronic components.
  • A participant mentions the use of cooling sprays in minor surgical procedures to temporarily numb an area of skin.
  • Another participant questions the nature of the reaction involved in the numbing process during minor surgical procedures.
  • A response indicates that the process may not involve a chemical reaction but rather a change in kinetics affecting pain signal transmission.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various ideas about the applications of endothermic reactions, but there is no consensus on the specifics of the reactions involved in certain applications, such as the numbing effect during minor surgical procedures.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the classification of certain cooling effects as endothermic and the specific mechanisms at play in the numbing process.

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I understand that spontaneous endothermic reactions are used rigorously in the design of instant cold packs to treat injures.

Can someone please list and suggest other uses of spontanous endothermic reactions that can be used practically in everyday life
 
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I've seen it proposed for a drink pack where part of it was given over to an endothermic chem mix. You activated the reaction a few minutes before consuming the cold drink.
 
Protein synthesis is endothermic. You could literally not live without it.
 
Does the chill due to evaporation of gas qualify as endothermic here? If so, a pressurised aerosol liquid can be sprayed onto a problem circuit board chip or component to assess whether it is temperature sensitive.

Similar thing can be used to temporarily deaden an area of skin to allow minor surgical procedures, e.g., extracting a splinter, lancing a boil. http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/4080/3110y.gif
 
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"temporarily deaden an area of skin to allow minor surgical procedures, e.g., extracting a splinter, lancing a"

what reaction is taking place here?
 
None. I think you are just altering kinetics, slowing down all reactions - and changing how fast the nerves transmitting pain signal can work.
 

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