Dry Ice Is Frozen Carbon Dioxide Gas (CO2). If You Were to Leave a Piece of Regular Ice

Dry Ice

Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide gas (CO2). If you were to leave a piece of regular ice out at room temperature it would melt and turn into a puddle of water. Dry ice does not melt under normal atmospheric conditions. It goes straight from a solid into a gas (sublimation). Hence the name “dry” ice” as it is ice that doesn’t melt, it sublimes.

Recall that in a solid the particles are locked together in an orderly arrangement, yet they still continuously vibrate and jiggle. In a liquid particles are spread out a little more but they are still relatively close together and they “slide past one another”. As a gas the particles are completely separate from one another and moving fast. Dry ice completely skips this liquid phase altogether. The carbon dioxide molecules go straight from a solid into a gas.

Dry ice must be handled with care as it is -110 degrees F ( -78 degrees C). That is cold enough to BURN YOU!!! The freezing point of pure ethyl alcohol (drinking) (C2H6O) is around−114°C; −173°F; The freezing point of methanol or methyl alcohol (CH3OH) is around−97.6°C; −143.7°F; 175.6K. Heat antifreeze used in cars is mostly methyl alcohol so dry ice should not be able to freeze it. If you were to place dry ice in it you can create an extremely cold and dangerous cryo-bath, however.

The most common use of dry ice is in the preservation of food. It can be used to keep food cold during transportation, to flash freeze it or even make ice cream. It is occasionally used in the lab and as an industrial cleaning agent. Fire extinguishers are pressurized and filled with liquid CO2. Once the liquid is sprayed it immediately turns into a dry ice mist that will sublimate away and leave no mess behind. You can actually make homemade dry ice with a CO2 fire extinguisher and a cloth bag.

Demos to Perform:

Dry ice in a beaker of warm water with food coloring.

Put a piece in my tea (too hot!)/soda (too flat) and then drink it.

500ml-1L graduated cylinder with soap-glycerin, food coloring and dry ice (bubbles)

Dry Ice Bubble in a bowl.

Blow Bubbles and watch them float and freeze on top of CO2.

Die out a Candle with CO2

Dry Ice Bomb in Soda Bottle

Dry Ice Rocket/Ziplock Back

Dry Ice on a scale in a zip lock….”weigh less”

Dry ice in sealed ziplock/film canister /playdoh.

DryIcicle(cut groove in dry ice and put stick in and fruit juice—LET WARM!!)

Dry ice in isopropy alcohol (92%) or use Heet Antifreeze and put in a gummy worm then smash it!)

Eerlenmeyer flask Dry ice warm water to make balloon… also holes stopper…

Suck air out of the flask…

Put quarter on dry ice and it vibrates.

Magnesium coil inside dry ice lit on fire.

Tonic water, dry ice blacklight

HOSE/FUNNEL DRY ICE EGGS

(microwav dry ice)