Science Education
What happens when a nice, fresh carnation is plunged into a container full of liquid nitrogen? Play the video to find out!
Announcer: Frostbite Theater presents... Cold Cuts! No baloney!
Joanna and Steve: Just science!
Joanna: Hi! I'm Joanna!
Steve: And I'm Steve!
Joanna: And this is a container of liquid nitrogen!
Steve: And this is my favorite carnation!
Joanna: Let's see what happens when we place Steve's favorite carnation in the liquid nitrogen!
Steve: Uh... Okay!
The flower's at room temperature, but the nitrogen is 196 degrees below zero Celsius, or 321 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
Joanna: Because the carnation is so much hotter than the liquid nitrogen, it's causing the nitrogen to start boiling rapidly.
Steve: Look! My flower's okay! It's a little foggy, but a little fog never hurt anyone, right?
Joanna: Actually... (crunch) it's not!
Steve: Why?!
Joanna: The carnation is full of water. When we placed it in the liquid nitrogen, all the water froze and turned to ice. Since it's full of ice, when I squeeze it, it broke.
Steve: So, wait a minute. My hand's mostly made out of water, too. So, if I were to stick my hand in there...
Joanna: No! The same thing would happen to you!
Steve: Really?
Joanna: Yeah.
Steve: Oh!
Joanna: Thanks for watching! I hope you'll join us again soon for another experiment!
Steve: Guess I gotta get a new flower...
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This page is maintained by Steve Gagnon.
