What Kind of Sorcery is This?
August 23, 2013 9:44 AM Subscribe
Or the tiniest "these tricks actually won't gain you any friends at all" warning.
posted by yoink at 10:01 AM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 10:01 AM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
TOUCHING DRY ICE WITHOUT GLOVES
GAAAAAH
posted by The Whelk at 10:02 AM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
GAAAAAH
posted by The Whelk at 10:02 AM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'll never forget that time I was pranked with the overflowing basket of balloons. "Ha ha, this basket is no longer able to contain these balloons," I laughed!
posted by sleevener at 10:05 AM on August 23, 2013 [16 favorites]
posted by sleevener at 10:05 AM on August 23, 2013 [16 favorites]
These balloons are expanding in a process of unknown providence, what japery!
posted by The Whelk at 10:23 AM on August 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 10:23 AM on August 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
TOUCHING DRY ICE WITHOUT GLOVES
Meh. Sure, if you hold onto a chunk of it for a while it'll freeze you, but it's not like INSTANT FROSTBITE OMG, we're not talking about liquid nitrogen here. My dad used to bring home chunks of it from the pharmacy and we kids would play with it in the bathtub, and we somehow survived. (When it got down to little tiny slivers was the best, because they'd float on the surface and scoot around on their own little powered jets of CO2)
posted by ook at 10:27 AM on August 23, 2013
Meh. Sure, if you hold onto a chunk of it for a while it'll freeze you, but it's not like INSTANT FROSTBITE OMG, we're not talking about liquid nitrogen here. My dad used to bring home chunks of it from the pharmacy and we kids would play with it in the bathtub, and we somehow survived. (When it got down to little tiny slivers was the best, because they'd float on the surface and scoot around on their own little powered jets of CO2)
posted by ook at 10:27 AM on August 23, 2013
Dry ice? That's nothing compared to the hilarious pranks you can play with boiling lead.
Encouraging the general public to play around with dangerous materials that have fairly unintuitive safety risks: good clean fun!
posted by Dimpy at 10:28 AM on August 23, 2013
Encouraging the general public to play around with dangerous materials that have fairly unintuitive safety risks: good clean fun!
posted by Dimpy at 10:28 AM on August 23, 2013
"...I could feel small rivulets of sweat running down my back. I tried to concentrate as I reached for--what was it? The tenth? The eleventh?--box of matches. I could feel the muzzle of the gun pressed hard against my temple. 'For God's sake, Maurice,' I whimpered, 'the candle just won't light. I don't know why!' 'Try again. Go on, try.'..."
posted by yoink at 10:33 AM on August 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by yoink at 10:33 AM on August 23, 2013 [5 favorites]
The day I discovered that the chem lab dispensary at school would sell you any desired quantity of dry ice for pennies (I think it was about 40 cents a pound) was a glorious day indeed.
The first day I went, I had no container for the dry ice, so they gave me an empty printer paper box. I carried this steaming box around to the rest of my classes that day and dropped large chunks of dry ice in the public toilets in one of the lecture halls.
posted by backseatpilot at 10:50 AM on August 23, 2013
The first day I went, I had no container for the dry ice, so they gave me an empty printer paper box. I carried this steaming box around to the rest of my classes that day and dropped large chunks of dry ice in the public toilets in one of the lecture halls.
posted by backseatpilot at 10:50 AM on August 23, 2013
My favorite trick involves a penny. You get gloves (I don't mind handling dry ice without them but this one trick requires them). Hold the penny in a warm hand. Put the penny in your glove hand and press firmly against a flat surface of the dry ice. It will emit squeals and hisses. I call this "Make Abe Lincoln Scream."
posted by adipocere at 10:55 AM on August 23, 2013
posted by adipocere at 10:55 AM on August 23, 2013
He does that with a quarter (but without the glove) in the video.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:06 AM on August 23, 2013
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:06 AM on August 23, 2013
The copper is better, though. The heat conduction is better, which is why you need a glove, but it's louder, too.
Also, it's Abe Lincoln!
A more dangerous (and therefore better) is to take a very cold bottle of water. Have someone taste it. Drop slivers of dry ice in it and swish it around with either your thumb over the opening or with the cap on (this is more dangerous than just the thumb) loosely. If you use the cap method, you have to let it off when the bottle becomes dangerously tight. After a while, you'll have fizzy soda water.
posted by adipocere at 11:10 AM on August 23, 2013
Also, it's Abe Lincoln!
A more dangerous (and therefore better) is to take a very cold bottle of water. Have someone taste it. Drop slivers of dry ice in it and swish it around with either your thumb over the opening or with the cap on (this is more dangerous than just the thumb) loosely. If you use the cap method, you have to let it off when the bottle becomes dangerously tight. After a while, you'll have fizzy soda water.
posted by adipocere at 11:10 AM on August 23, 2013
You guys are already done!? I'm still stuck on question #3. What was the answer?
Who did you scare with the slowly bulging cloudy bag on the counter surrounded by a squealing bucket of dry ice and quarters and a pile of burnt out matches....
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 11:13 AM on August 23, 2013
Who did you scare with the slowly bulging cloudy bag on the counter surrounded by a squealing bucket of dry ice and quarters and a pile of burnt out matches....
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 11:13 AM on August 23, 2013
Self link but dry ice is great for getting a Hookah very, very cold.
posted by smoothvirus at 11:14 AM on August 23, 2013
posted by smoothvirus at 11:14 AM on August 23, 2013
#6: Show several of your friends this video, then take them to the smallest room in the house, where all the doors and windows close tightly. The room is equipped with several large blocks of dry ice and lots of objects to use to play with the stuff. Turn your friends loose on the dry ice, then "get a phone call" and leave the room, closing the door. Return an hour later and collect the wallets and jewelry from your friends' corpses.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:14 AM on August 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:14 AM on August 23, 2013 [8 favorites]
What happens if you put dry ice in liquid nitrogen?
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:55 AM on August 23, 2013
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:55 AM on August 23, 2013
#6: Show several of your friends this video, then take them to the smallest room in the house, where all the doors and windows close tightly. The room is equipped with several large blocks of dry ice and lots of objects to use to play with the stuff. Turn your friends loose on the dry ice, then "get a phone call" and leave the room, closing the door. Return an hour later and collect the wallets and jewelry from your friends' corpses.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:14 PM
well that escalated quickly....
posted by ShawnString at 12:17 PM on August 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 2:14 PM
well that escalated quickly....
posted by ShawnString at 12:17 PM on August 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
A few things that are missing -
After your Hallowe'en party is over and if you have a nice block of dry ice left over, throw it in the apartment complex pool.
Make dry iced tea - chunks of dry ice into the glass, metal spoon, sugar, tea bag, boiling water.
When you're trying to maximize CO2 output, using boiling water, not warm water. Dry ice will boil pretty responsively in warm water, but quickly will form a frozen water ice shell. The bigger the ΔT, the longer it will boil vigourously.
The last time I had dry ice at my office, I used water from the Keurig coffee machine...
posted by plinth at 12:36 PM on August 23, 2013
After your Hallowe'en party is over and if you have a nice block of dry ice left over, throw it in the apartment complex pool.
Make dry iced tea - chunks of dry ice into the glass, metal spoon, sugar, tea bag, boiling water.
When you're trying to maximize CO2 output, using boiling water, not warm water. Dry ice will boil pretty responsively in warm water, but quickly will form a frozen water ice shell. The bigger the ΔT, the longer it will boil vigourously.
The last time I had dry ice at my office, I used water from the Keurig coffee machine...
posted by plinth at 12:36 PM on August 23, 2013
"...Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light..."
Oh man! Like this...
posted by Cookiebastard at 12:40 PM on August 23, 2013
Oh man! Like this...
posted by Cookiebastard at 12:40 PM on August 23, 2013
What happens if you put dry ice in liquid nitrogen?
You get REALLY dry ice
This reminds me of a story from the last time I went camping with a group of extremely geeky people (which is most of the time I go camping, or anywhere else for that matter)
We were discussing best ways to keep a food cooler chilled over several days without access to electricity and one of the elder geeks who'd been quietly watching the conversation asked "well how cold is ice?" and the lesser geeks responded instantly "32°" except for the one Canadian geek who said "0°" and looked a little smug until the elder geek said "No, that's the melting point. Ice is whatever temperature you make it." and he explained his refrigeration method, which was to bathe bottles of water in liquid nitrogen and then wrap those in heavy towels and put them in the bottom of his cooler surrounded by layers of more water ice, and then a layer of towel, and finally the food on top of that, and that sure the nitrogen-cooled water would melt eventually but it took a lot longer since it was starting at ~70K instead of 270K (yes, of course he used Kelvin) and his biggest problem was that sometimes the cooler itself got brittle and freezerburned which is why all the towels. I still don't know if he was serious or if he was totally putting us on but we were all a lot more cautious about going into his cooler from that point on let me tell you.
posted by ook at 12:42 PM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
You get REALLY dry ice
This reminds me of a story from the last time I went camping with a group of extremely geeky people (which is most of the time I go camping, or anywhere else for that matter)
We were discussing best ways to keep a food cooler chilled over several days without access to electricity and one of the elder geeks who'd been quietly watching the conversation asked "well how cold is ice?" and the lesser geeks responded instantly "32°" except for the one Canadian geek who said "0°" and looked a little smug until the elder geek said "No, that's the melting point. Ice is whatever temperature you make it." and he explained his refrigeration method, which was to bathe bottles of water in liquid nitrogen and then wrap those in heavy towels and put them in the bottom of his cooler surrounded by layers of more water ice, and then a layer of towel, and finally the food on top of that, and that sure the nitrogen-cooled water would melt eventually but it took a lot longer since it was starting at ~70K instead of 270K (yes, of course he used Kelvin) and his biggest problem was that sometimes the cooler itself got brittle and freezerburned which is why all the towels. I still don't know if he was serious or if he was totally putting us on but we were all a lot more cautious about going into his cooler from that point on let me tell you.
posted by ook at 12:42 PM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
The heat of fusion of water = 334 J/g and the specific heat of ice = 2.09 J/g·°C
So the phase change from 0°C Ice to 0°C water takes as much heat as raising the temperature of -160°C ice to 0°C Ice. Liquid Nitrogen is ~-200°C so the elder's geek nitrogen cooled ice could absorb a little more than twice as much heat as regular -20C ice that you would get out of a home chest freezer.
And ya,plastics most materials at -200C are very brittle. Hence the frozen banana demonstration.
posted by Mitheral at 2:43 PM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
So the phase change from 0°C Ice to 0°C water takes as much heat as raising the temperature of -160°C ice to 0°C Ice. Liquid Nitrogen is ~-200°C so the elder's geek nitrogen cooled ice could absorb a little more than twice as much heat as regular -20C ice that you would get out of a home chest freezer.
And ya,
posted by Mitheral at 2:43 PM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
If you like frozen Reese's peanut butter cups, which I do, but find that your freezer doesn't quite make them as cold and solid as you might like, you may be tempted to use the liquid nitrogen someone brought to a Halloween party to deliciously freeze one in seconds. DON'T. It will be way too cold at first, and even once you've given it some time to warm up (but not enough time because it looks so cold and delicious), it'll still be very cold and hard as a rock and impossible to eat which will make you sad.
posted by borkencode at 3:05 PM on August 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by borkencode at 3:05 PM on August 23, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you like frozen Reese's peanut butter cups, which I do, but find that your freezer doesn't quite make them as cold and solid as you might like, you may be tempted to use the liquid nitrogen someone brought to a Halloween party to deliciously freeze one in seconds. DON'T. It will be way too cold at first, and even once you've given it some time to warm up (but not enough time because it looks so cold and delicious), it'll still be very cold and hard as a rock and impossible to eat which will make you sad.
Handy, everyday life tips like these are what make Metafilter great.
posted by yoink at 4:34 PM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
Handy, everyday life tips like these are what make Metafilter great.
posted by yoink at 4:34 PM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]
The really most funnest thing you can do with dry ice is recite the scenes with the witches from Macbeth:
Fair is foul, and foul is fair, etc.
posted by ovvl at 5:33 PM on August 23, 2013
Fair is foul, and foul is fair, etc.
posted by ovvl at 5:33 PM on August 23, 2013
I delighted my son a couple months ago dropping small chunks of dry ice into a glass of soapy water -- it overflowed with plumes of "smoke"-filled bubbles. Got some great mad scientist pictures of him popping them.
posted by novelgazer at 6:35 PM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by novelgazer at 6:35 PM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I still don't know if he was serious or if he was totally putting us on
I don't either but I have my doubts; ordinary PET bottles would be pretty brittle anywhere near LN2 temps, and water does expand when it freezes-- I'd really expect the bottles to crack or shatter like glass would when he 'bathed' them in liquid nitrogen.
posted by jamjam at 6:56 PM on August 23, 2013
I don't either but I have my doubts; ordinary PET bottles would be pretty brittle anywhere near LN2 temps, and water does expand when it freezes-- I'd really expect the bottles to crack or shatter like glass would when he 'bathed' them in liquid nitrogen.
posted by jamjam at 6:56 PM on August 23, 2013
Well, you can pre-freeze the water with the cap off first before the bathing step.
I don't think that frozen water further expands as it gets colder. But you could do the bathing (not immersing) part with the cap off.
As for LN2 resistance and potential further expansion, just use polyprop Nalgenes.
posted by porpoise at 7:52 PM on August 23, 2013
I don't think that frozen water further expands as it gets colder. But you could do the bathing (not immersing) part with the cap off.
As for LN2 resistance and potential further expansion, just use polyprop Nalgenes.
posted by porpoise at 7:52 PM on August 23, 2013
If you want to play amateur hour, liquid nitrogen will let you damage more people in less time.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:58 PM on August 23, 2013
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:58 PM on August 23, 2013
#6: Show several of your friends this video, then take them to the smallest room in the house, where all the doors and windows close tightly. The room is equipped with several large blocks of dry ice and lots of objects to use to play with the stuff...
That brought to mind a picture I saw of college students in a small room where windows and door had been taped off and a tank of oxygen and a tank of nitrous oxide had been cracked open. Which looked like it might be great fun.
At least, until there was either a spark or someone in impaired judgment tried to light up some form of smokable vegetable matter.
Well, dry ice might come handy then.
posted by y2karl at 9:52 PM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
That brought to mind a picture I saw of college students in a small room where windows and door had been taped off and a tank of oxygen and a tank of nitrous oxide had been cracked open. Which looked like it might be great fun.
At least, until there was either a spark or someone in impaired judgment tried to light up some form of smokable vegetable matter.
Well, dry ice might come handy then.
posted by y2karl at 9:52 PM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
Several years ago, an employee at MIT Lincoln Labs was working late, doing something with Helium. I don't remember whether it was liquid or gas, but he was in a confined space and managed to asphyxiate himself. Helium is not actively toxic, the way CO2 is. Be careful.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:45 AM on August 24, 2013
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:45 AM on August 24, 2013
Dry ice really isn't that dangerous. I've posted about it recently and for fun to freak out people who were scared of dry ice I would put some in my mouth (be sure to have some water in there first) and blow smoke out of my nose and mouth. It isn't as dangerous as LN2 or LHe because you will know that you are out of breath. Unlike when the NMR quenches and displaces all of the oxygen in the room and you die laughing and happy from oxygen deprivation.
posted by koolkat at 9:31 AM on August 24, 2013
posted by koolkat at 9:31 AM on August 24, 2013
If I were doing free-lance voiceover work for videos, I think I would stipulate that I won't do any that include the phrase "what kind of sorcery is this?"
posted by Curious Artificer at 10:10 AM on August 24, 2013
posted by Curious Artificer at 10:10 AM on August 24, 2013
Kirth Gerson: "Helium is not actively toxic, the way CO2 is."
How is carbon dioxide "actively toxic"? I don't think it's any more deadly than helium or other relatively nonreactive gases that displace oxygen. Maybe you're thinking of carbon monoxide.
CO2 does have an interesting role in the blood and stimulates breathing. One of the most interesting side effects I've experienced was after taking diamox while mountain climbing (it's a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor so it increases breathing while at rest). Being on the stuff makes carbonated drinks "taste" flat. Really strange. I finished the beer anyway.
posted by exogenous at 9:51 AM on September 6, 2013
How is carbon dioxide "actively toxic"? I don't think it's any more deadly than helium or other relatively nonreactive gases that displace oxygen. Maybe you're thinking of carbon monoxide.
CO2 does have an interesting role in the blood and stimulates breathing. One of the most interesting side effects I've experienced was after taking diamox while mountain climbing (it's a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor so it increases breathing while at rest). Being on the stuff makes carbonated drinks "taste" flat. Really strange. I finished the beer anyway.
posted by exogenous at 9:51 AM on September 6, 2013
Helium is only dangerous in that it displaces oxygen; high concentrations of helium alone don't hurt you as long as there is enough oxygen and in fact it's used instead of nitrogen in some diving air mixes.
Carbon dioxide on the other hand in high concentrations can kill you even if there is enough oxygen to support life.
posted by Mitheral at 2:43 PM on September 6, 2013
Carbon dioxide on the other hand in high concentrations can kill you even if there is enough oxygen to support life.
posted by Mitheral at 2:43 PM on September 6, 2013
How is carbon dioxide "actively toxic"? I don't think it's any more deadly than helium or other relatively nonreactive gases that displace oxygen. Maybe you're thinking of carbon monoxide.
No. I keep beating this drum, because the conventional wisdom is that CO2 is only hazardous if it displaces too much Oxygen in the air being breathed. This is a false and dangerous idea. An atmosphere of 85% Oxygen and 15% CO2 will kill you before you know what's happening.
Carbon Dioxide Physiological Hazards (PDF)
“Not just an asphyxiant!”
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:45 PM on September 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
No. I keep beating this drum, because the conventional wisdom is that CO2 is only hazardous if it displaces too much Oxygen in the air being breathed. This is a false and dangerous idea. An atmosphere of 85% Oxygen and 15% CO2 will kill you before you know what's happening.
Carbon Dioxide Physiological Hazards (PDF)
“Not just an asphyxiant!”
1 – 1.5 % Slight effect on chemical metabolism after exposures of several hoursThese facts have been known for 120 years. The myth of displacement of atmospheric Oxygen being the hazard may be due to the way CO2 works in the body. It replaces oxygen molecules in the blood, and the result is often referred to as "Oxygen displacement," but it refers to O2 in the blood, not O2 in the air.
3 % The gas is weakly narcotic at this level, giving rise to deeper breathing, reduced hearing ability, coupled with headache, an increase in blood pressure and pulse rate.
4 – 5 % Stimulation of the respiratory centre occurs resulting in deeper and more rapid breathing. Signs of intoxication will become more evident after 30 minutes exposure.
5 – 10 % Breathing becomes more laborious with headache and loss of judgement.
10 – 100 % When the carbon dioxide concentration increases above 10%, unconsciousness will occur in under one minute and unless prompt action is taken, further exposure to these high levels will eventually result in death.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:45 PM on September 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
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