Sciencemadness Discussion Board

What can N2O (nitrous oxide, dinitrogen monoxide) be used for?

vmelkon - 5-4-2016 at 18:36

I could buy small cartridges of N2O from a local store. It is used to make whipped cream. You pour cream into a canister (75$) and put the N2O cartridge on. The N2O dissolves into the cream and them you can dispense the cream onto your ice cream or something.

I could burn some wood in it but that doesn't interest me.
I could do the barking dog reaction but I don't have CS2.

Could it be converted to NO (nitrogen monoxide)?

Any other ideas?

pesco - 6-4-2016 at 03:35

I love the idea of birthday cake with whipped cream made with addition N2O.
It means never ending laughter during celebrations!
The cream would be strong and legal competitor for cannabis :)

j_sum1 - 6-4-2016 at 03:54

I have serious deja vu reading this thread. I am sure someone mentioned the same product a year or so ago.

[Edited on 6-4-2016 by j_sum1]

CuReUS - 6-4-2016 at 04:37

I recently read a russian article in another thread in which they used N2O for oxidising cyclohexene to cyclohexanone producing N2 as by-product

woelen - 6-4-2016 at 04:56

The barking dog reaction also can be done with methanol or ethanol. If you dissolve a little boric acid or boric oxide in the methanol, then the effect is nearly as spectacular as in the experiment with CS2. You get a very bright blue/green flame and a roaring noise. If you only use methanol, then you get the roaring noise, but a less intense and less colorful flame, but still the effect is quite spectacular.

chemplayer.. - 6-4-2016 at 07:21

N2O is awesome for baking deserts.

Our favourite (potentially a future video) is to make a genoise sponge, a slightly sweetened mixture of espresso + brandy + cream, and then make up a misture of mascarpone and about 20% cream (stir well to make this into a liquid). Fill the whipped cream device with the mascapone mixture and charge up with N2O.

In a desert glass, place a layer of sponge, soak in the espresso mixture, add a layer of whipped mascarpone, then another layer of sponge, some more espresso to soak, etc. Shave some good quality dark chocolate onto the top.

The lightest and tastiest tiramisu you've ever tried!

MrHomeScientist - 6-4-2016 at 09:00

Thanks to woelen's advice, I've been doing that version of the barking dog very successfully for years now. Roughly 1 gram of nitrous oxide is released in a long glass tube, stoppered at both ends. 1 mL of methanol is mixed with ~0.1g boric acid until dissolved. This is poured into the tube and rotated around to allow the liquid to coat the walls. The mixture is then ignited with a long grill lighter. It's much faster than the "real" barking dog, but easier to put together and quite a bit safer since all the products are harmless. If you use too much N<sub>2</sub>O, that can lead to a little irritating NOx fume release (and some scarily forceful barks).

Maker - 7-4-2016 at 04:35

Inflate balloons with it and sell it so teens as a legal high. :D

According to Wiki it'll react with sodium amide at around 190C to produce sodium azide.

I think when it oxidises something it forms nitric oxide, so if you're hoping to produce NO, perhaps burning hydrogen* in it's presence and catching the fumes is a way forward.

*Or any fuel for that matter, but hydrogen burns nice and cleanly.

[Edited on 7-4-2016 by Maker]

vmelkon - 7-4-2016 at 17:56

Quote: Originally posted by chemplayer..  
N2O is awesome for baking deserts.

Our favourite (potentially a future video) is to make a genoise sponge, a slightly sweetened mixture of espresso + brandy + cream, ....


Hey, you are that chem_player guy. You have some really nice videos.