5 Phenomenal Science Stunts, Done with Dry Ice

whether you get dry ice from the store
or make it a home with a fire
extinguisher here are five things you
could do with dry ice but probably
shouldn’t for this first experiment I’m
using this bottle of fuel line
antifreeze because it’s 99% isopropyl
alcohol like other alcohols this stuff
has to get tremendously cold before
it’ll freeze so if we mix in some chunks
of dry ice you can see the ice boils
violently until the temperature cools
down around minus 109 Fahrenheit now
we’ve got a makeshift cryogenic napalm
so let’s see what happens if we drop in
a gummy worm this sub-zero slurry is so
cold that it flash freezes the worm
completely solid in under 20 seconds in
fact it’s so hard now that if we try
hitting with a hammer the whole thing
shatters like it was made of glass the
sudden transformation really is
incredible and you might just have to
break one to believe it did you know you
can use dry ice to make a popsicle start
by making a groove or an indentation in
a slab of dry ice about half an inch
deep now try balancing a popsicle stick
in the center of the groove then fill it
up with your favorite drink you’ll see
that the instant it touches the dry ice
it’ll fog over with a misty white vapor
now because driest is only freezing the
liquid on the bottom side it’s gonna
take a few minutes for the cold to
penetrate all the way through so just
sit back and enjoy the magic happening
right before your eyes in a little over
10 minutes you should be able to give
your popsicle a little wiggle and pull
it out of the mold but don’t lick it yet
this popsicle is about five times colder
than normal and will stick to your
tongue so dip it in a glass of water to
warm it up a bit first then sit back and
enjoy your delicious homemade dry icicle
now check this out we know that dry ice
is a solid the sublimates straight into
a gas but what if we could turn it into
a liquid
if dry ice can be liquefied does it
become dry water liquid co2 can actually
exist in our atmosphere but if we’re
really really careful there is a way we
can see it in its liquid state if we
fill a special preform with a few pieces
of dry ice and seal it inside it’ll
immediately begin pressurizing the
container once the pressure gets up
around 75 pounds per square inch an
amazing thing begins to happen the ice
starts to melt and we can actually see
what liquid carbon dioxide looks like
now we really need to watch this
carefully because as soon as the ice
melts the pressure can quickly rise to
well over a thousand psi and blow the
container before this one explodes let’s
watch what happens to the
blew it if we carefully release the
pressure and remove the cap the liquid
is instantly transformed into dry ice
snow and you can see all the fluid is
suddenly disappeared now to show you why
this demonstration is so risky let’s put
one of these containers in a cup filled
with warm water they can get really
really far away you can see exactly how
clear and beautiful liquid dry ice is
and at the same time exactly how
powerful it can be as well hopefully
this gives an idea of why this should
only be attempted by professionals if
attempted at all here’s one you can try
at home
drop some dry ice into a container of
warm water to get a thick vapor flowing
then lean in close and suck in as
quickly as you can if you do it right
it’s gonna look really really cool the
white smoke is safe to breathe because
it’s just water vapor mixed with carbon
dioxide so go creep someone out with
your new supernatural ability now if you
want to take it to the next level try
capturing all the gas in a balloon co2
is what triggers your reflex to exhale
and if you try breathing it straight
it’ll force you to cough tingle your
insides and leave you feeling a little
lightheaded
for this next experiment we need to be
out in the open and away from anything
flammable you can see I’ve drilled a
hole into this slab of dry ice and
that’s where we’re gonna be dropping a
coiled strand of magnesium ribbon now
watch what happens when we light the
magnesium with a blowtorch
drop it down in the hole and seal it
with another slab of dry ice it creates
a vicious reaction that burns brighter
than the Sun which you can see is enough
to light up my yard in the middle of the
night now the crazy thing about this is
carbon dioxide usually puts out fires
because it starves the fire of oxygen
but in this reaction the magnesium is so
hungry for it that it rips oxygen right
out of the frozen co2 and leaves behind
a pile of black and white ash the
remains are mostly magnesium oxide and
magnesium nitride but the black ash
contains a lot of elemental carbon which
interestingly enough is the same stuff
you use for grilling well there are 5
crazy and dangerous experiments you
could do with dry ice but really
probably shouldn’t that’s it for now if
you like these projects perhaps you’ll
like some of my others check them out at
the king of random calm I get asked all
the time where to get dry ice so I’m
gonna tell you if you’re over 18 it
could be as easy as your local grocery
store all the big chains seem to carry
them and all I have to do is ask for it
when your check
so it’s as easy as that I’ve also got a
video right over here showing how you
could make it a home with a carbon
dioxide fire extinguisher so maybe take
a look at that one next
I am constantly working on new videos to
show you and I’ve just sat down and
planned out the next five months worth
so sugar rockets the mini arc furnace
and Fight Club soap molds are all on the
list because I know you’ve been
patiently waiting for them thank you for
always being one of the first to watch
my videos when they come out
I always check to see if you like them
and what you have to say so keep doing
that and I will keep making them and
I’ll be looking for you in the next
project video we’ll see you then