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.
Liquid nitrogen is a super cold liquid version of nitrogen. It is so cold that is boils at −320 °F. That is 352 degrees colder than the temperature that makes water freeze. And it is even colder when it is still a liquid! That’s cold!
One of my favorite demonstrations with liquid nitrogen is making a ‘smoke cloud.’ The smoke is actually a nitrogen being released as a vapor. In this demonstration, you poor warm water into a container of liquid nitrogen. The extreme temperature change causes the nitrogen to turn into a vapor immediately, and if you watch closely, you can see little chunks fly out, which are piece of a ice that were instantly frozen by the liquid nitrogen. That’s really, really cold!
Follow this blog or subscribe to the Yuck Science youtube channel to see more liquid nitrogen demonstrations soon!
Seriously cool!
Thank you, Dorian!
You can certainly see your enthusiasm here.
Thanks, Isaac! This demo in particular gets me every time! It feels magical to stand in the cool air of these clouds. I can’t wait until we can be back in schools again and share it will students.
Love it!
Thank you!
Really great! We are enjoying your blog so much, thank you.
I appreciate that, thank you.
This reminds me of the interesting science I saw as a child.
I bet! I sometimes smile to think some kids today are going to look back on their childhoods when they are 40 and remember the kooky science guy that made things blow up and covered people in slime!
Commenting to subscribe. Looking forward to more fun posts!
Thanks, I hope you enjoy them!
Great post! 🙂 Thanks for the show!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Great post. Really looking forward to seeing more.
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Very good! Subbed…
Thank you!
Where can I get liquid nitrogen? I want to try!
Chemical supply companies such as Airgas or Praxair sell liquid nitrogen. You will need a DOT-approved dewar to make a purchase. It is a lot of fun to do this demo, but be sure to also learn about safe handling before buying your own supply!
Hey very cool web site!!
Thanks for visiting!
We loved your Zoom show and your blog looks like a lot of fun, too!
Thank you, Abby! I enjoyed visiting with your students, too!
Wow does it feel to be inside a cloud?
Wow, so cool…
whoah that is amazing!
Subbed & looking forward to reading/seeing more!
This looks so cool.