Is Dry Ice dangerous?

Question

Today in science, we did experiments with dry ice. is it dangerous? If you swallow it, is it harmful? Also, how do you make it? Do you trap air into a container and just freeze it? :S

Answer 1

Dry ice is a dangerous substance.  Most people see it as something exciting to watch with the clouds of vapour, but as a previous answer stated it is very dangerous when it comes into contact with the skin or any other body part - so certainly do not drink it.  When the Dry ice melts to form the cloud it is at around -80degC.

Dry ice is in actual fact solid carbon dioxide.  One way to maufacture dry ice is to put carbon dioxide gas under high pressure until it changes to its liquid form under refrigeration.

Answer 2

Dry ice is very cold - there is a danger if you leave exposed skin in contact with it for too long.

I've seen some professors who will put a piece in their mouth but that's dangerous, too, for the same reason.

It is carbon dioxide, so too much gas can displace the oxygen and suffocate you - but that's kinda rare.

Air in general can be liquefied or solidified using a method very similar to how your refrigerator works - except modified for temperatures that are very much colder.

Liquid air (liquid oxygen or liquid nitrogen) is pretty common but carbon dioxide does not have a liquid phase.  It sublimes from the solid directly to the gas.

Answer 3

dry ice is very dangerous especially when it comes in contact with the skin

Answer 4

it can be very dangerous. If u have to much ice it could kill you and if u have to much ice it could make u very sick. So i would be very careful to not put to much.

Good luck and don't get hurt!

Kayla Marie

Answer 5

it is very dangerous,

Answer 6

Hey nice too meet you im Babygurl,and yes dry ice is dangerous:)

Answer 7

dry ice is really dangerouse by far..but depends wat chemicles its consisting

Answer 8

if your skin touches it, thats like instant frostbite

pour water on it and it will explode

swallow it? it will freeze to your tongue

Answer 9

Yes, dry ice is dangerous if not handled correctly.  It can cause acute frostbite.  A radio station in England held a competition where people sat on dry ice, and several people were seriously hurt; see the first link.

Dry ice should not be swallowed, you can freeze your throat.  You shouldn't touch it with your skin at all (unless you are doing something like freezing off a mole).

As noted by others, dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide (CO2).  It is made by compressing and cooling pure CO2 until it liquefies, then venting the liquid to atmospheric pressure; part of the CO2 evaporates to gas and the loss of heat freezes the rest to solid.  It is also possible to freeze CO2 with something very cold; the polar ice caps of Mars are cold enough to make CO2 frost.

You can't freeze CO2 in your freezer; it requires temperatures much lower.  If you had liquid nitrogen you could use it to make dry ice straight from carbon dioxide gas.

Why dry ice is so cold:  The inter-molecular attraction forces of carbon dioxide are relatively weak (much weaker than water).  This means it takes relatively little energy to break a molecule loose from the solid and turn it into a gas (sublimation), and this process occurs at a very low temperature.  This is also why liquid CO2 cannot exist at atmospheric pressure; the attraction isn't strong enough to maintain a liquid until the pressure gets to more than 5 times sea-level pressure.

Answer 10

Dry ice is not mostly dangerous...it's only depends where and what kind it is.

dry ice is like the frozen pond or lake, if you step or play around it.... now that's dry ice and where you're standing ...is dangerous.

if you eat or swallow a dry ice... it won't kill you. you're liquid inside your body will wet it and turn it into wet ice as we all know and familiar with.

it may feel weird though.

HOW TO MAKE IT ?

you wrap a plastic wrapping paper fully around the ice cube, then put it back into the freezer and waited for a while.... when you come back..it should be turning to dry ice by now.  why..cause the wrap blocking the air...and without air...the ice is dry.

one thing though.. never hold a dry ice for a while or a long period of time. cause it will suck your skin and when you peel it off... it will peel your skin off. OuCh!!!!

Just like l*****g a pole in the North Pole where we know what's going to happen next. lol!

yes! your tough will be suck and stuck. lol! laugh all you want be it's true. Some people tried doing that many times.  

At the end.... they have no idea how to get out. SO don't...if I were you.

any more you need to know....mail me. happy to help.

Answer 11

a third simple answer would be... yes.