Have you ever been to a theater production and seen a fog or smoke-like mist spread across the stage? Because it contributes to an eery atmosphere, many schools and production companies use fog machines in many plays and musicals. While commercial fog machines create vapor using mineral oil or glycerine mixtures, you can make your own fog at home with water and a special ingredient: dry ice!
Basics of Dry Ice
Basics of Dry Ice
Most of us know that we breathe oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide gas. In fact, carbon dioxide spends most of its time in gas form. It makes up 0.04% of the Earth’s atmosphere and is considered a greenhouse gas due to its ability to trap heat.
In the image above, we can see the crystalline structure of solid carbon dioxide (red atoms are oxygen and grey is carbon). Unlike solid water, carbon dioxide doesn’t need to condense into a liquid before freezing. At temperatures below -75.8°C (-109.3°F), carbon dioxide gas deposits directly to a solid. At any temperature above that, the solid CO2 turns directly into gas through the sublimation process.
Many scientists use dry ice to keep their materials extra cold, and it’s also a lot easier to clean up. There’s no liquid left in a container once the ice is gone! We can also use dry ice in beverages instead of solid water - as long as there’s no ice in the cup when the drink is served. You wouldn’t want to come into contact with dry ice, and it’d be especially dangerous to the sensitive skin on your lips.
Uses and Safety Concerns
In the image above, we can see the crystalline structure of solid carbon dioxide (red atoms are oxygen and grey is carbon). Unlike solid water, carbon dioxide doesn’t need to condense into a liquid before freezing. At temperatures below -75.8°C (-109.3°F), carbon dioxide gas deposits directly to a solid. At any temperature above that, the solid CO2 turns directly into gas through the sublimation process.
Many scientists use dry ice to keep their materials extra cold, and it’s also a lot easier to clean up. There’s no liquid left in a container once the ice is gone! We can also use dry ice in beverages instead of solid water - as long as there’s no ice in the cup when the drink is served. You wouldn’t want to come into contact with dry ice, and it’d be especially dangerous to the sensitive skin on your lips.
Uses and Safety Concerns
Dry ice is mostly used as a cooling agent, but it also plays an important role in many other things! When it’s placed in water, sublimation is accelerated and low, dense clouds of smoke-like fog are created. It can also be used by doctors to freeze and remove warts. When the chunk of ice freezes the wart and the skin surrounding it, a blister forms. Eventually, the blister will fall off and take the wart with it! Dry ice can be used as bait to trap mosquitoes, bedbugs, and other pesky bugs because it produces the carbon dioxide that attracts these insects.
One of the most common industrial uses of dry ice is blast cleaning. Pellets of dry ice are shot from a nozzle with compressed air to remove residues on dirty industrial equipment. Using this technique, we can remove ink, glue, oil, paint, mold and rubber. Dry ice blasting can replace sandblasting, steam blasting, and solvent blasting. This is because there’s no leftover residue to clean up, such as sand, water, or other chemicals.
One of the most common industrial uses of dry ice is blast cleaning. Pellets of dry ice are shot from a nozzle with compressed air to remove residues on dirty industrial equipment. Using this technique, we can remove ink, glue, oil, paint, mold and rubber. Dry ice blasting can replace sandblasting, steam blasting, and solvent blasting. This is because there’s no leftover residue to clean up, such as sand, water, or other chemicals.
Dry ice is mostly used as a cooling agent, but it also plays an important role in many other things! When it’s placed in water, sublimation is accelerated and low, dense clouds of smoke-like fog are created. It can also be used by doctors to freeze and remove warts. When the chunk of ice freezes the wart and the skin surrounding it, a blister forms. Eventually, the blister will fall off and take the wart with it! Dry ice can be used as bait to trap mosquitoes, bedbugs, and other pesky bugs because it produces the carbon dioxide that attracts these insects.
One of the most common industrial uses of dry ice is blast cleaning. Pellets of dry ice are shot from a nozzle with compressed air to remove residues on dirty industrial equipment. Using this technique, we can remove ink, glue, oil, paint, mold and rubber. Dry ice blasting can replace sandblasting, steam blasting, and solvent blasting. This is because there’s no leftover residue to clean up, such as sand, water, or other chemicals.
When handling dry ice, one has to be extremely careful. The temperature of ice from water is usually 0℉ (-18℃) as that’s the average temperature of a regular freezer. If you wanted to, you could hold an ice cube or two in your bare hand until it completely melts, but it’d be really cold. However, you don’t want to touch dry ice with your bare skin. Dry ice is much colder...-75.8°C (-109.3°F) to be exact! Any contact longer than a few seconds will freeze your cells and give you a burn-like injury.
Here are important precautions to take when handling dry ice:
Use Dry Ice to Make a Witch’s Brew!
One of the most common industrial uses of dry ice is blast cleaning. Pellets of dry ice are shot from a nozzle with compressed air to remove residues on dirty industrial equipment. Using this technique, we can remove ink, glue, oil, paint, mold and rubber. Dry ice blasting can replace sandblasting, steam blasting, and solvent blasting. This is because there’s no leftover residue to clean up, such as sand, water, or other chemicals.
When handling dry ice, one has to be extremely careful. The temperature of ice from water is usually 0℉ (-18℃) as that’s the average temperature of a regular freezer. If you wanted to, you could hold an ice cube or two in your bare hand until it completely melts, but it’d be really cold. However, you don’t want to touch dry ice with your bare skin. Dry ice is much colder...-75.8°C (-109.3°F) to be exact! Any contact longer than a few seconds will freeze your cells and give you a burn-like injury.
Here are important precautions to take when handling dry ice:
- Protective clothing. You should always wear some protective clothing when handling dry ice. Some thick gloves, an oven mitt, or even a kitchen towel will be just fine.
- Use of a proper storage container. When you’re not using the ice, it should be stored in an insulated container (dry ice is often shipped in styrofoam). Make sure that it’s not airtight, or else the sublimed CO2 gas could build pressure and your container might explode!
- Ventilation. You should not to be in an enclosed space with dry ice for too long. After about ten minutes of exposure, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air can cause problems. If you start to get a headache, breathe quickly, or your fingertips turn blue, that’s a sign that you’re not getting enough oxygen. Make sure to quickly put the dry ice away and immediately remove yourself from that room!
Use Dry Ice to Make a Witch’s Brew!
We know that putting dry ice in warm water will speed up the sublimation process, creating a spooky looking fog. You can show off your knowledge of dry ice with this cool trick! Try adding a couple of pellets to your favorite punch just before serving it to make a spooky beverage - just make sure to remove the ice before you drink it! We recommend searching online for a place to buy dry ice in your local area. Continental Carbonics has 40 locations throughout the United States and Canada. There’s even one here in our hometown of Fargo, ND!
Here’s a modified recipe from The Food Network:
First, you’ll need a block of dry ice, one package of lime gelatin, two cups of boiling water, three cups of chilled pineapple juice, and one 2-liter bottle of any lemon-lime soda or ginger ale.
While you wait for the water to boil, pour the gelatin mix into a large bowl. Slowly add the hot water to the mix, and stir for at least two minutes (or until the gelatin is dissolved). Then you can stir in the cool pineapple juice. Let the juice cool down to room temperature.
When the juice is cooled down, it’s time to add the dry ice! Use some tongs or an oven mitt to pick up the block of ice and gently place it a larger bowl or plastic cauldron. Fill your cauldron with a few inches of warm water - just enough to cover the block of ice. Watch how the ice sublimes before your eyes! Now we can place a punch bowl inside the “cauldron” and on top of the ice. The cauldron will appear to be steaming with a magic brew. Pour your juice into the punch bowl and add the soda. Make sure to mix it well!
Here’s a modified recipe from The Food Network:
First, you’ll need a block of dry ice, one package of lime gelatin, two cups of boiling water, three cups of chilled pineapple juice, and one 2-liter bottle of any lemon-lime soda or ginger ale.
While you wait for the water to boil, pour the gelatin mix into a large bowl. Slowly add the hot water to the mix, and stir for at least two minutes (or until the gelatin is dissolved). Then you can stir in the cool pineapple juice. Let the juice cool down to room temperature.
When the juice is cooled down, it’s time to add the dry ice! Use some tongs or an oven mitt to pick up the block of ice and gently place it a larger bowl or plastic cauldron. Fill your cauldron with a few inches of warm water - just enough to cover the block of ice. Watch how the ice sublimes before your eyes! Now we can place a punch bowl inside the “cauldron” and on top of the ice. The cauldron will appear to be steaming with a magic brew. Pour your juice into the punch bowl and add the soda. Make sure to mix it well!
The final step is to enjoy your punch - or witch’s brew!
References:
http://dryiceinfo.com/safe.htm
https://www.continentalcarbonic.com/
Image Credits:
Mills, Ben. “Crystal Structure of Dry Ice”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/17/17 from commons.wikimedia.org
Müller, Robin. “Container for dry ice of the Linde AG company”. Released into the public domain under the Creative Commons Attributions-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. Uploaded on 10/18/17 from commons.wikimedia.org
Greyling, Lynn. “Tough Gloves”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/18/17 from publicdomainpictures.net
“Dry Ice Sublimation”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/17/17 from commons.wikimedia.org
Anderson, Ralph. “Brew-Ha-Ha Punch”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/18/17 from myrecipes.com
References:
http://dryiceinfo.com/safe.htm
https://www.continentalcarbonic.com/
Image Credits:
Mills, Ben. “Crystal Structure of Dry Ice”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/17/17 from commons.wikimedia.org
Müller, Robin. “Container for dry ice of the Linde AG company”. Released into the public domain under the Creative Commons Attributions-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. Uploaded on 10/18/17 from commons.wikimedia.org
Greyling, Lynn. “Tough Gloves”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/18/17 from publicdomainpictures.net
“Dry Ice Sublimation”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/17/17 from commons.wikimedia.org
Anderson, Ralph. “Brew-Ha-Ha Punch”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 10/18/17 from myrecipes.com
