Demonstraitions with Dry Ice

Frozen carbon dioxide is sold in most grocery stores under the name 'dry ice' (Because it sublimes instead of melting. Since it sublimes at a very cold temperature and releases carbon dioxide in the process, this can lead to some interesting demonstrations.

Warnings:
Dry ice is very cold, it can easily cause your skin to freeze.
Dry ice expands by a large amount when subliming, never store it in a sealed container or it may rupture.

Materials:
1 lb of dry ice
Hot water
A lit candle
A zip lock bag
A flat metal surface of some kind

February 23, 2006
Several pieces of dry ice were placed in a container and it was covered with a piece of paper. A few minutes later the sublimed gas was pour over a candle. The candle went out immediately without smoking.

Several pieces of dry ice were placed in a sealed plastic bag. The bag slowly inflated and eventually burst.

Several pieces of dry ice were put in hot water. The dry ice bubbled hard enough to completely surround the submerged pieces with carbon dioxide. The surface of the water was covered in an opaque layer of fog which overflowed the container. The surface of the fog appeared smooth except for an occasional bubble of fog which would shoot up out of it about half an inch.

A flat piece of metal was placed against a piece of dry ice. This created a screeching sound as the carbon dioxide sublimed.

August 11, 2006
Demonstrations were repeated with pictures.

The text presented here is for informational purposes only. The author is not liable for actions taken by the reader.