Lazy sunday afternoons and asphyxiation

[mattbell]

I had a little over 5 pounds of dry ice left over from yesterday's party.  If I didn't use it right away, it would just evaporate.  What to do? 

First, I tried making a vodka slushy.  If you put a bottle of vodka in the freezer, it stays liquid, but it if you use dry ice, you can freeze it.  Frozen vodka has the consistency of wet paste -- it's very slushy.  The taste of frozen vodka is so frostbitingly cold that you don't really taste the alcohol. 



Next, I decided to dump the rest of the dry ice into a pot of boiling water.  There were several things wrong with this idea... not the least of which was the fact that I had just had two shots of vodka. 

First, the good stuff.  Here's how it looks:


And a movie:

Here's why it turned out to be a bad idea...

So had just I dumped the remainder of the dry ice (probably 5 pounds worth) into a big pot of boiling water.  It was awesome.... aside from the fact it let out so much CO2 that it extinguished both the flame and the pilot lights.  I started smelling unburnt propane, and quickly reached to turn the jets off.  Even then I was feeling a bit lightheaded.  I had closed the windows to keep the wind from messing up the nice smoke plumes I was filming... another bad idea.  I'd just trapped myself in a room that was rapidly filling with CO2.  I quickly opened several windows. 

I did a little research on wikipedia.   CO2 has a higher density than air, so it tends to move downward.  That explains why it smothered the pilot light.*  Also, by looking up some information and doing some math, I figured out that I raised the CO2 concentration in the kitchen from the normal 0.03% to potentially something like 3% which would make plants happy but can cause dizziness, headaches, fainting, and, eventually, death in people.  Awesome.  I had just confirmed the first two effects on people experimentally. 

The actual risk to me was probably quite low, but I'm glad I have enough of a brain to work out these things before they become real problems.

*Yes, this little light of mine.  I'm going to let it shine.

There we go.  Back in business.

------

Wow... I should remember that for a price as low as $20, I can have all kinds of crazy once-in-a-lifetime experiences.   Actually, it was more like $5, as dry ice is $1/lb.  

Comments

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Aww... sorry you couldn't make it.

I did enjoy talking to you at the ABL party though and would like to talk more. Would you both be interested in meeting me (and perhaps Christina) for dinner some night?

[amoken.livejournal.com]

Sure! That'd be fun. I think I tend to be least busy on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Other time slots are best negotiated by email or IM. :)

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

I sent you an email to your gmail address listed on your profile page. I don't know if you check it often so I'm letting you know. :-0