If you've ever turned on an episode of Iron Chef or Top Chef, chances are you've seen a contestant in gloves and goggles, yielding a canister that looks far more fit for a chemistry lab than for a kitchen. Wonder what's in the canister? Liquid nitrogen, the go-to tool/ingredient of molecular gastronomy, and one of the trendiest items in many gourmet chefs' kitchens.
Ah, wine. The bouquet fills your nose. The rich finish fills your mouth with soft flavors of oak and raspberries. The wine warms your belly and soothes your mind. Yeast and their biochemical factory help create this feast for your senses. Thanks to a research group from France, we now have a little more information on how that process works and a little more appreciation for yeast's contribution.
If you've got a birthday party to plan for a young budding scientist coming up, a little nitrogen should do the trick. In this project, I'll show you 10 "super cool" tricks with liquid nitrogen that you could try, but probably shouldn't!
Dippin' Dots are a fun way to enjoy ice cream, but the price tag is not so fun. Plus, the company filed for bankruptcy last year, so they may not be around much longer. The good news is that you don't need them—you can make your own at home with some ice cream and liquid nitrogen. Redditor hypoid77 posted instructions on how to make your own DIY Dippin' Dots Maker out of a Styrofoam cooler, a couple two-liter bottles, a thumbtack, and some liquid nitrogen. Use the thumbtack to poke a 3-inch p...
In this "Quick Clip," I tried dunking inflated balloons into a container filled with liquid nitrogen until they were completely flattened and seemingly destroyed. Once out of the liquid nitrogen, the balloons come back to life and reinflate on their own—without even touching them!
You can do a lot with liquid nitrogen, including freeze and shatter gummy bears, make homemade Dippin' Dots, and scare the crap out of your friends by dipping your hand in it! If you can't get your hands on any, you can even make it yourself. Or, if you want to try something a little more destructive, you can use it to make an explosion and send 1,500 ping pong balls flying.
If you've ever taken high school chemistry, you may already be familiar with the ability of liquid nitrogen to freeze soft object so hard that they will shatter. This video will teach you a fun experiment utilizing this property of liquid nitrogen. It invovles gummi bears frozen and soaked in water or liquid nitrogen (or not, for the control) and then smashed in a most satisfying way.
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to lower electrical resistance with liquid nitrogen with Dr. Lithium.
You'll be breaking hearts this Valentine's Day, literally, you'll be "breaking hearts"… if you try this science experiment. A live heart. That disgusting thing you swear your love by. How do nerds break hearts? With liquid nitrogen!
Nitrogen Triiodide is a very powerful contact explosive, but like most fun chemicals is not readily available to the general public cheaply. If you want some and have some chemistry skills, watch this video to learn how to make Nitrogen Triiodide at home out of household ammonia and water purification iodine crystals.
What would happen if you stick your hand in a pool of liquid nitrogen? Would your hand freeze to death? Would it harden to an unnatural state? Would it shatter as soon as you touched something? Well, real life isn't like the movies (i.e. Demolition Man), so believe it or not, your hand would be safe, thanks to a little known phenomenon called the Leidenfrost effect.
Can't get liquid nitrogen? Then make some yourself. Check out this instructional science video to learn how to make inexpensive liquid nitrogen. This tutorial video is great for science teachers, physics demonstrators, and science enthusiasts.
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.
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to compare regular ice with liquid nitrogen-cooled ice with Dr. Lithium.
In this how-to, Steve Spangler shows us the power of liquid nitrogen, and how you can use it to make quite a powerful explosion. Now this isn't something you'll likely try yourself, but you'll learn something, and hey, that's pretty cool.
Systm is the Do-It-Yourself show designed for the common geek who wants to quickly and easily learn how to dive into the latest and hottest tech projects. In this episode, you'll learn how to make ice cream in udder a minute, using the wonders of liquid nitrogen. (You will also learn how to do this safely, so you don't risk giving your fingers a case of instant frostbite.)
Are your plants dying? Are they in dire need of some fertilizer? Is your compost not cutting it anymore? Well, save your garden plants with this recipe for nitrogen rich manure tea fertilizer. It's a really easy all natural fertilizer anyone can make. You can collect manure in your pasture or buy it by the bag at a garden center. You can also reuse the manure over and over again. Keep chemicals out of your garden and go green!
In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to do a liquid nitrogen experiment. The materials required for this experiment are liquid nitrogen and film canisters. This task is very easy, fast and simple to do. Begin by pouring the liquid nitrogen into the film canisters. Then quickly place the film canister lids on. The liquid nitrogen will eventually become a boiling gas and expand about 700 times. Because of the expanding, the pressure will build in the canisters and result in popping lids. T...
Love doing science experiments? Want to impress your friends with your science skills and look good? Then you must watch this video.
Learn how liquid nitrogen is used in the 'real world' at Tang Restaurant Dubai, the only restaurant of its kind in the Middle East that employs molecular gastronomy. Learn what to do with that liquid nitrogen you've been storing in your closet!
In order to make Ice Cream with Liquid Nitrogen, you will need the following: liquid nitrogen, safety glasses, half and half, sugar, eggs, vanilla, gloves, and chocolate syrup.
This corny video describes how to make peppermint oreo ice cream using liquid nitrogen to freeze it. Don't worry--the liquid nitrogen ice cream product is completely safe, assuming you have no allergies.
In this next maintenance tutorial, you'll be finding out two things on how to improve the performance of your car. One is how to check the car's tire pressure. During a time where gas is expensive, tire pressure can help you save money and time at the pump. It's easy to do and can be checked in a matter of minutes. The other bit of information is more of a question. Which is better for tires? Nitrogen or oxygen. You may be surprised by the answer. So check out the tutorial above on how to che...
Learn how to make nitrogen triiodide (NI3), the main ingredient of the small, paper-covered parcels that you throw at the ground to make a snapping noise, with household chemicals and items. This chemical is very unstable, so please exercise caution.
Check out this how-to video to make ice cream in five minutes with liquid nitrogen, starring Charles Cox. Also, check out the shattering flower demonstration after learning how to make this liquid nitrogen ice cream!
Apparently submerging a hand in liquid nitrogen isn't as painful as one might suspect (if you trust the Leidenfrost effect as much as Theodore of Gray Matter):
Make liquid nitrogen ice cream with tips from this how-to video. Make sure to use gloves if you are going to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen or--OUCH!
To make a snow cone with nitrous gas, as an experiment, you will need the following: liquid nitrogen, protective gear, a bell jar, and a dish to hold the liquid nitrous.
Bill Beaty's at it again! Our favorite crackpot physicist presents a backyard solution to that emergency need for cryogenic fluid. Sometimes you can't wait to freeze daisies.
In this how to video we learn how to make a molecular Pisco Sour with tequila and candy floss. This cocktail also requires the use of liquid nitrogen. Watch and see how a Pisco Sour cocktail is prepared. Besides the candy and liquid nitrogen you will also need lemon juice and tequila.
This violent reaction occurs when dried nitrogen triiodide is touched, even by something as light as a feather.
Bring a little science into your kitchen! For this recipe, you will need: 1/2 cup sugar, 340 grams watermelon juice, 6 grams Versawhip, 2.5 grams xanthan gum, whipped cream dispenser with nitrous oxide chargers, another 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, 3 egg yolks, 1 quart pureed watermelon, 8 cups liquid nitrogen and 2 cups cubed watermelon. Make watermelon ice cream using liquid nitrogen.
In this project, using a 5GHZ processor, you'll see how to use liquid nitrogen to cool you computer down, giving magnificent speeds to boost your PC's productivity. Liquid cool your processor with nitrogen.
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to test if a fertilizer has nitrates rather than urea or ammonia as its nitrogen source.
Watch this science video tutorial from Nurd Rage on how to make nitric acid. They show three ways to make nitric acid based on two different chemical approaches, both of which can be done using easily accessible materials.
It’s called Urophagia—the art of consuming urine. There could be any number of reasons for having the desire to drink your own urine (or somebody else’s). There’s the so-called term “urine therapy,” which uses human urine as an alternative medicine. In urine therapy, or uropathy, it’s used therapeutically for various health, healing, and cosmetic purposes. There’s also those people who drink urine as sexual stimulation, where they want to share every part of each other. And then there’s the o...
In this how-to We learn how to make a molecular whiskey cola cocktail using liquid nitrogen. This can be a very cool party trick, or even just something to impress your friends with.
Southwest Yard and Garden shows viewers how to use recycled paper in compost! In order to compost paper you should first shred up the paper into pieces. Then you need to work in the paper into the soil or sand. You should work the paper into the soil in equal parts. Make sure you mix nitrogen into this composting paper. You need to mix nitrogen into it or it will not decompose and the process will not be fed. So first mix your paper with soil and sprinkle in nitrogen. You also need to water t...
In order to make manganese dioxide electrodes, you're going to need cobalt nitrate and manganese nitrate to do it. Making cobalt nitrate is fairly easy, but making the manganese nitrate is a little more complicated. But not impossible.
C For Chemistry delves into the chemistry of science experiments. This chemist knows what he's talking about. These chemistry experiments are not only fun, but very educational for all of those interested in scientific chemical reactions and properties.
