Nitrous Oxide Gas

When someone mentions nitrous oxide gas people tend to think of either drag race cars or the laughing gas used by the dentist right before he does a root canal or pulls a tooth. However what many people do not realize is that is has many other uses. This colorless, odorless gas has a pleasant slightly sweet taste and when it is inhaled results in a euphoric feeling, which is the reason it has been used as a recreational drug often with disastrous results. What many people do not know about nitrous oxide gas is that it is a powerful oxidizer especially at high temperatures. It reacts with the planets ozone layer and while it is considered to be the biggest natural regulator of the stratospheric ozone layer it is considered a major greenhouse gas.

Recent studies show that is does 298 times more damage to the atmosphere per unit weight than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is manufactured by gently heating ammonium nitrate until it vaporizes into nitrous oxide and water vapor. This reaction occurs at somewhere between 170 and 240° C the point at which ammonium nitrate becomes a moderately sensitive explosive and an extremely powerful oxidizer. Above this temperature the reaction can quickly accelerate to the point of detonation so the mixture is rapidly cooled down to avoid explosion and to condense the water vapors so that they can be removed. The rest of the gases are passed through various washes to remove everything but nitrous oxide. One of the first uses for nitrous oxide is as an oxidizer in rocket motors. Its popularity stems from the fact that it is non toxic and very stable at room temperature. This makes it far easier to store compared to many of the other chemicals that have been used as oxidizers.

In 1914 Robert Goddard took out a patent that recommended the use of a mixture of gasoline and nitrous oxide as liquid fueled rocket propellant. Even today it is used in combination with HTP fuel for experimental space craft like SpaceShipOne. One of the uses for nitrous oxide that most people do not know about is in the food industry. Nitrous is used in aerosol cans of whipped creams, cooking sprays and is the gas used in bags of potato chips to keep them fresh while they are on the shelf. When it is used in whipped cream it dissolves into the cream until it is sprayed out, at this point it helps to increase the volume of the cream by up to four times as much compared to only twice as much with air. Nitrous oxide cream dispensers are very popular with restaurants and caterers to achieve incredible results. If you are looking for authentic European nitrous oxide powered cream dispenser you need to shop at Cream Right where you will find only the finest Austrian dispensers packaged and ready to ship to you anywhere in the country. Specializing in hard to find culinary items they take great pride in the quality of service they provide to all of their customers.