Fun With Liquid Nitrogen

[blut wump]

Someone sent me a link to a recipe for ice cream made with liquid nitrogen. Since there's no chance for any crystal formation you get the very creamiest of ice cream.

http://webs.wichita.edu/facsme/nitro/cream.htm

There are links to other very cool things there too to do with LN. Now, where can I get some?

 

[blut wump]

Lots more cool things to do with liquid nitrogen

1001 things to do with Liquid Nitrogen:
http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/~ubws/nitrogen.html

 

[Sub-Zero]

can you make babies out of liquid nitrogen?

 

[Delinquent]

actually there is a restaurant in england somewhere that for $180/person, you can eat like a 20 course meal of food cooked with liquid nitrogen among other really weird futuristic styles.

Edit: it could be the Fat Duck in Berkshire but I'm not sure as I saw it on a tv show the other night

 

[Mr. dB]

actually there is a restaurant in england somewhere that for $180/person, you can eat like a 20 course meal of food cooked with liquid nitrogen among other really weird futuristic styles.

Edit: it could be the Fat Duck in Berkshire but I'm not sure as I saw it on a tv show the other night

Wouldn't liquid nitrogen freeze the food rather than cook it?

 

[Delinquent]

Wouldn't liquid nitrogen freeze the food rather than cook it?

Sorry I got a little mixed up with the wording. The ice cream is made from the liquid nitrogen plus other foods are made really weird. Like one dish will be fish. The fish comes out in this box that is 200degrees and it cooks in front of you. Once it's done, the waiter places the fish on your plate along with some weird sauce

 

[blut wump]

actually there is a restaurant in england somewhere that for $180/person, you can eat like a 20 course meal of food cooked with liquid nitrogen among other really weird futuristic styles.

Edit: it could be the Fat Duck in Berkshire but I'm not sure as I saw it on a tv show the other night

It's run by Heston Blumenthal. He studied the science of food and taste and turned it into an application. His work is now known as molecular gastronomy and top chefs make pilgrimage there.

Bacon and egg ice-cream, anyone? Maybe you'd prefer toast sorbet or snail porridge?

There's an interesting article here on him:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,1145616,00.html

 

[spongebob]

sure it can be handled safely but use caution. it expands about 1600 times as it goes from a liquid to a vapor. when this happens, severe burns can happen, explosions, burst of high powered energy.

in a confined or even semi-confined space enough of it will kill you by asphyxciation. the rapidly expanding vapors can displace enough O2 to kill you.

 

[blut wump]

This advice taken from the Liquid Nitrogen Safety Page
http://webs.wichita.edu/facsme/nitro/safe.htm

Liquid Nitrogen Demonstrations
Safety Notes & Concerns
​

Liquid nitrogen is a dangerous material. The following is an excerpt from the Air Products Nitrogen Material Safety Data Sheet:

A back of the envelope calculation indicates that the entire contents of a 10 Liter dewar being spilled in a unventilated 274 square foot room with an 8 foot ceiling would reduce oxygen levels below the 19.5% level where Air Products recommends the use of a respirator. Since most classrooms are larger than this, suffocation does not represent a major danger. When transporting the liquid in a car, however, it is probably a good idea to open a window.

The possibility of freeze burns represents a much more serious danger and is therefore our first concern. This does not mean that the demonstration itself is dangerous, but it does mean you must be careful. Dangers include:

* Nitrogen can spatter (possibly in eyes) while being poured.

* Flying chunks of frozen objects could cause eye injury.

* Students (being children) will want to reach out and touch nitrogen or other cold objects. As mentioned above, contact with nitrogen can cause tissue damage, and this must be prevented.

Therefore specific safety precautions should include:

* Teachers must stress to their students the importance of not touching frozen objects or nitrogen.

* Wear goggles whenever pouring or dumping nitrogen. Nitrogen can spatter into the eyes, and potentially blinding pieces of frozen things can fly around when we drop it.

* Use a glove and / or tongs to handle any object going into or out of nitrogen and to carry the nitrogen dewar.

Teachers should familiarize themselves with the following first aid instructions (excerpted from the Air Products Nitrogen Material Safety Data Sheet) for cryogenic freeze burns just in case the worst happens:

If cryogenic liquid or cold boil off contacts a worker's skin or eyes, frozen tissues should be flooded or soaked with tepid water (105-115F, 41-46C). DO NOT USE HOT WATER. Cryogenic burns which result in blistering or deeper tissue freezing should be seen promptly by a physician.

Remember to stress the importance of not touching liquid nitrogen or frozen objects.

 

[spongebob]

im surprised by thier seemingly non-hazardous staement about being in a car. considering it expands to approx 1600 times it liquid volume.

funny coincidence, i just took a training module on this today, not that i already didnt know it.

 

[blut wump]

The dog would get a nasty shock if it chewed through the top of the flask, then.

I guess people who handle this stuff get a blase familiarity with the danger to the extent that the danger can slip past them; such as having a container in the back of the car. It's probably fine until someone rams into the back of you and then physics takes over with a vengeance.

 

[spongebob]

well i would assume if its handled in small enough volumes that would reduce a great deal of the risk. large volume consumers are professionals in an industry under safety guidlines and procedures.

 

[samoth]

Eh, it's not really that fun or exciting. Swatting away people from puting their hands in it gets old.