Where To Buy Liquid Nitrogen For Science Experiments LINK
The Science: Because the boiling point of liquid nitrogen is -196 degrees Celsius, at room temperature the liquid instantly starts to change phase into a gas. The gas fills up more volume than the liquid and starts to increase the pressure inside the container. In fact the expansion rate is 1 to 696. That means one liter of liquid nitrogen will expand to fill 696 liters. Eventually the pressure is more than the plastic can handle, and the bottle explodes. Note that some plastic will explode earlier. We recommend the more rigid plastic containers as it gives you a bit more time to get to safety.
where to buy liquid nitrogen for science experiments
You can also use liquid nitrogen to create a very powerful bottle rocket. To do that you need to fill up a plastic bottle a third of the way with water. Then, pour in another 10 percent of liquid nitrogen. With a glove on, put your thumb lightly over the top and tip it upside down. This prevents all the water from pouring out. As you do this, the liquid nitrogen will quickly expand, creating an intense bottle rocket.
Electronics doesn't like being hot, and a huge amount of effort is expended in heat sinks and fans to keep it cool, but is cooling always a good idea. To find out I tried cooling an LED - Light Emitting Diode down to -196C using liquid nitrogen. Most active electronics are created using diodes or combinations of them to form transistors, so this should give some idea of what would happen if you cooled a computer chip.
You will find out that nitrogen is a gas at room temperature, and that in order for it to be in a liquid state it must be very cold. When the nitrogen is cold enough to be a liquid, exposure to room temperature air will cause it to boil. As boiling nitrogen heats up and becomes a gas again, it expands. Therefore, if cold liquid nitrogren is placed in a sealed container at room temperature, the pressure from the gas's expansion will cause the container to explode.
Play aside, liquid nitrogen (LN2,) like other forms of nitrogen, is a useful substance that fits several home uses and features in several industrial applications. However, LN2 is not readily available in grocery stores because the material is potentially hazardous and must be handled with care.
As the name implies, liquid nitrogen is the liquid state of the element nitrogen. Like nitrogen gas, it is made up of nitrogen atoms sharing covalent bonds. In literature, liquid nitrogen is often referred to by the abbreviation, LN2 or LIN or LN.
The substance was first liquefied by Polish physicists Zygmunt Wróblewski and Karol Olszewski on April 15, 1883. Since then, liquid nitrogen has gained popularity and increased usage thanks to its low temperature and its ability to quickly freeze other substances on contact.
For secure storage, liquid nitrogen comes in insulated containers that incorporate pressure venting to prevent pressure buildup. Depending on the efficiency of the containment system, stored LN2 can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of months.
Because of the Leidenfrost effect, liquid nitrogen will not burn you on immediate contact with skin. The rapidly evaporating gas thermally insulates your skin for a brief instant saving you temporarily from cold burns. This effect is similar to the temporary protection you get from touching a hot object with a wet finger for a microsecond. However, the more prolonged exposure that results from LN2 pooling anywhere on your skin will lead to severe cold burns.
Furthermore, you must never swallow liquid nitrogen. Ingesting LN2 can lead to freezing of tissues and severe internal damage. In 1997, a physics student accidentally consumed liquid nitrogen and suffered near-fatal injuries. Similarly, in 2012, one English teen had her stomach operated after drinking a cocktail made with liquid nitrogen.
Furthermore, because of this expansion, liquid nitrogen storage containers must be pressure vented at all times. In 2006, malfunctioning pressure-relief devices of liquid nitrogen tank resulted in a massive explosion at a lab in Texas A&M University. The blast was powerful enough to remove the walls of the lab, shatter a reinforced concrete beam underneath, and propel the nitrogen tank through the ceiling.
LN2 is typically available for bulk purchase at a few specific locations. However, to buy liquid nitrogen, you must already have a particular cryogenic storage metal container called a dewar. This device serves as a way to prevent explosions from the rapid expansion of the liquid to gas.
Dewars are the safest way to transport cryogens like LN2 as they significantly reduce the rate at which the contents boil away. Never store liquid nitrogen or any other cryogen in a fully-sealed container as this will cause the tank to burst.
Once you have secured your dewar, the next step is finding a place that sells LN2. Liquid nitrogen is usually sold by the liter for anywhere from 30 cents to a dollar per liter. However, depending on how scarce LN2 is in your area, the price may be significantly higher.
While liquid nitrogen is not available over the counter, some distributors like Praxair and Airgas that specialize in distributing gases often stock it. You can use the store locator on the company websites, search the internet, or consult the yellow pages to find a distributor near you.
One unconventional location where you may find liquid nitrogen in abundance is at tire dealerships. Some tire dealerships use nitrogen in place of oxygen for filling tires. These dealerships do this because nitrogen migrates through your tire slower than oxygen. Hence, nitrogen is often more ideal for maintaining an even pressure distribution. The great thing about tire dealerships is that you can find them almost everywhere. Even better, a well-stocked dealership might have a few dewars for sale.
Another excellent place to check for LN2 is any store that sells welding supplies. Many large scale welding operations use liquid nitrogen. Hence, you are quite likely to get a refill at a supply store. However, welding supply stores that carry the product typically cater to high volume purchases. So, there is no guarantee that they will be willing to take up micro orders.
While supermarkets do not have liquid nitrogen on offer, like with many products, Costco is sometimes an exception. Depending on what part of the country you are in, your local Costco may double as a hardware store or even gas station. Like some tire dealerships, some Costcos are also using nitrogen to fill tires in place of oxygen. If you are in luck, you can even get dewars at some outlets.
Another perfect place to inquire is at your local universities or colleges. Science laboratories on campuses often stock their supply of liquid nitrogen for various researches. Your local college may have some on offer for sale, and they often do so at significantly less than market prices. You could try checking the school website for info or calling their Physics and Chemistry departments.
Even though liquid nitrogen is incredibly cold (-346 degrees Fahrenheit to be exact), it can actually cause burn-like skin damage when handled incorrectly, so it should never be played with by children or irresponsible grownups, no matter how fun it looks. So how does a colder-than-cold liquid burn you?
Try out this science experiment... demonstrate pressure and volume. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to create an explosion with liquid nitrogen and a plastic bottle. See the demonstration of the exploding reaction of the pressure build up in the bottle.
Liquid nitrogen is sealed into a plastic bottle. As the liquid nitrogen changes to a gas it expands, increasing the volume. An increase in volume results in an increase in pressure. Eventually, the pressure becomes too great and the bottle explodes. This is an easy science experiment you can do right at home, but be careful, it's dangerous. Take safety precautions.
The ping-pong balls are fired high into the air, as can be seen on this video of the experiment, which scientists hope will ignite public imagination with regard to other areas where science impacts on everyday life.
The Smitten Ice Cream shop in the Hayes Valley of San Francisco serves fresh ice cream with one novel ingredient: liquid nitrogen. The shop is located inside of a repurposed shipping container. Alan Greenblatt/NPR hide caption
What makes it essential to Smitten is the ability to make ice cream fresh to order. You walk up and ask for a chocolate, or a blood orange with pistachio. The liquid nitrogen freezes the ingredients together, and your cup or cone is ready about a minute later.
Of course, there's nothing new about making ice cream with liquid nitrogen. In fact, cooking with the stuff has become so trendy lately that Wired felt inspired to put together this how-to guide. (As we reported last year, sometimes these culinary experiments can go dangerously wrong.)
The stirring, along with the minus 321 F temperature of the liquid nitrogen, keeps ice crystals from forming and is responsible for Smitten's smooth texture, which my son likens to a cross between standard-issue ice cream and whipped cream.
What happens when you place liquid nitrogen in a container filled with 1,650 ping-pong balls? googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1449240174198-2'); ); It may not be a question asked every day, but scientists at Plymouth University have staged just such an experiment to inspire people about the power of science.
"For me, experiments like this are the shop window for science. They create the wow factor that is usually followed by the question, 'why?'. My hope is that such experiments will excite young (and not so young) minds to ask how and why such things happen and hence to delve deeper into science."
Among my favorite new pieces of science equipment are my liquid nitrogen dewars. A dewar is a special container designed to store liquefied gases. It is like a special thermos but much larger. When you have a dewar and are trained in safely handling one, you can do science experiments with liquid nitrogen. 041b061a72