Liquid Nitrogen Experiments: The Flying Ring!

[elli1999]

you destroyed my ceiling

[JeffersonLab]

@elli1999 We do take chunks out of it from time to time.

[Ins4nekid]

2:47 amazing

[imca111]

2:46 BLACK MAGIC!!!!!!!

[Bcabral17]

Can you send me a jefferson lab t-shirt please?

[iloveloockerz]

science FTW, so interesting!

[RevJoshua]

THIS IS SWEET!

[MCmister911]

Is it possible to make solid nitrogen consdering that helium becomes a super fluid at close to 0 Kalvin

what would happen to nitrogen?

[JeffersonLab]

@MCmister911 Yes. See our video called "Let's Freeze Liquid Nitrogen!"

[IcedEarth1231]

is this what people do when they just have some liquid nitrogen laying around? this seems cool to me (:

[ViniciusWolfgang]

Now i will develop a new cannon

[RallyyySmurf]

If you go outdoors with that how far can you shoot the magnet? to tha space? :D:D

[JeffersonLab]

@RallyyySmurf Only a foot or so higher. The auditorium's ceiling is just close enough for us to hit it.

[PykohYT]

Could this be used as a weapon?

[JeffersonLab]

@PykohYT Theoretically, sure.

[BLUYES422]

i was in the wierd part of youtube then i whent to home and clicked this MUCH BETTER :D

[ziggyboi1995]

Do you freeze the LN2 there or do you have it brought in?

[JeffersonLab]

@ziggyboi1995 We purchase it from an industrial supplier.

[arli6565]

How does magnets work?! D;

[JeffersonLab]

@arli6565 I really can't explain in the 500 characters we have here. It basically boils down to the electric current produced by the movement of electrons in atomic 'orbits'. The hyperphysics site may be a good starting point for you to do some reading.

[NyGiant123]

how come you can spill liquid nitrogen everywhere without a disaster?

[JeffersonLab]

@NyGiant123 By design, we don't have enough nitrogen in the room to cause a disaster and the safety gear protects us from incidental contact.

[Scorpionsrock55]

Now quickly turn off the electromagnent.

[sunshinobie]

omg so much liquid nitrogen its in your guy's back pockets lol i like

[magictiti55]

u spill so much

[Anthonymon177]

What kind of qualifications are necessary to handle liquid nitrogen? It's just too amazing for me to leave it alone.

[PhantomPhan1332]

Use it on a volcano! But first tie a string on the ring, then use your thingymajig.

[imaketherules000]

Isn't this how a lot of trains work? Like the ones that go 100mph+?

[JeffersonLab]

@imaketherules000 Yes, at least some of them levitate using electromagnetic induction which is the same principle that makes the ring float. Those that do have to 'land' on wheels when they come to a stop since it's the change in magnetic flux that creates the repulsive force.

[InfektedMinds]

@JeffersonLab Wait, I thought electromagnetic induction was the process of turning mechanical energy into electricity, like an alternator on a car.

[JeffersonLab]

@InfektedMinds It's the change in magnetic flux that's important. That's what the alternator's doing. It spins coils of wire within a magnetic field. That creates a change in magnetic flux which produces electricity.

[spencer4100]

how do you liquify a gas such as helium?

[JeffersonLab]

@spencer4100 With big, honkin' compressors. Go to jlab.org and search for 'chl' to see the inside of our liquid helium cryogenics plant.

[spencer4100]

can liquid nitrogen or helium preserve food?

[JeffersonLab]

@spencer4100 Yes, it'll freeze it to the point where it won't spoil. It's a bit expensive to use liquid helium for this, but it'll work.

[GTHaroFITBMX]

cold cutz no baloney JUST SCIENCE!

[Mbenham04]

I don't understand why NASA don't use a method similar to this to send payloads of thing's to outer space! I do realize that people and sensitive equipment couldn't handle the force but what about things that can like H2O, food supply's or parts for satellites.

[henrytran49]

Don't put your head on top of that thing. Or it would hurt. :3

[ImRezound]

won't the table get wet

[JeffersonLab]

@ImRezound Nope. Nitrogen boils at 77 K. The table is nearly 300 K. It's far too hot for the nitrogen to remain as a liquid for long.

[LukeL007]

How would a silver ring behave in a "cryogenic" state

[JeffersonLab]

@LukeL007 About the same as the copper ring. It would jump higher due to reduced resistance.

[firering974]

stupid question but do you teach cryogenics?

[JeffersonLab]

@firering974 Well... We aren't a school. We're a national laboratory. We have a lot of people who know a lot about cryogenics and the operation of cryogenic plants. We're asked to help other laboratories improve or design their cryogenic plants. So, I guess, in a way, we 'teach' cryogenics, but it's not like we have formal classes like a school or university does.

[bulldriver1]

how do you obtain liquid nitrogen?

[JeffersonLab]

@bulldriver1 We get it from one of our 3,000 gallon storage tanks.

[TheZebadon]

@JeffersonLab Like a boss.

[Shookiepoo]

@JeffersonLab ok serious question ...the intro.. are you saying cold cuts old bologna?or do i have over active imagination and need to stop listining to hard lmao

[JeffersonLab]

@Shookiepoo Well, it is closed captioned...

What it says is "Frostbite Theater presents... Cold Cuts! No baloney! Just Science!"

[AGothicSilverStar]

I love these videos :) I wish we did something like this when I was in Chemistry last year :|

[Sillyzombie666]

why do you guys always waste so much liquid nitrogen, you only needed to pour a little in the bowl but instead you fill it to the top

[JeffersonLab]

@Sillyzombie666 Once we withdraw nitrogen from the storage tanks, it as good as spilt anyway. There's no way to move it from our transfer Dewar back into the storage tanks. We might as well use what we withdraw. It's just going to boil off eventually anyway.

And, that bowl... that only holds about 5 cents worth of nitrogen.

[Sillyzombie666]

@JeffersonLab wait, liquid nitrogen's THAT CHEAP, i thought it was alot more than that like at most $50 - $100 for that tank. i mean i knpw dry ice is pretty cheap but i guess the nitrogen's cheaper

[JeffersonLab]

@Sillyzombie666 Liquid nitrogen is much less expensive than dry ice. Nitrogen is 'mined' from the atmosphere and the atmosphere is 78% nitrogen. Liquid oxygen is commercially valuable and it's only a few degrees warmer than liquid nitrogen. Once the oxygen in the air has been liquified and extracted, it's trivial to get the nitrogen. In a way, liquid nitrogen is a waste product of the production liquid oxygen. By comparison, carbon dioxide only comprises about 0.03% of the atmosphere.

[Nerketur]

That frost thing was awesome. It makes perfect sense if you think about it scientifically, but it's still awesome! =D

[JeffersonLab]

@madv14 Thank you, no.

[Chessmaster777]

now make it into a railgun

[leandeganis]

what happen if you smell nitrogen 

[JeffersonLab]

@leandeganis 78% of the air is nitrogen, so you're technically 'smelling' it all the time.

[leandeganis]

@JeffersonLab so it is not important how much of diferent gases u smell (while they are not toxic) but the thing that matter is the ammount of oxigen that is in the mix u r smelling? am i right?

[JeffersonLab]

@leandeganis What I'm saying is that you are surrounded by nitrogen all the time. If it had a smell, you'd always be smelling it.

If you are asking what happens if you inhale nitrogen then, yes, the amount of oxygen that's mixed in is really important. Too little and you pass out or, worst case, die.

[leandeganis]

@JeffersonLab im sorry, i was trying to say exactly the last thing u said.. what happen if you INHALE nitrogen. thanks for the explanation!

[GakkiSai]

@leandeganis You inhale nitrogen all the time.

[Snakecharmer95]

@leandeganis nitrogen is about 70% of the air we breathe. i'm pretty sure it's 70%. otherwise its 75%. XD i can't remember now.

[JeffersonLab]

@Snakecharmer95 It's fractionally more than 78%.

[sargennipple]

THAT WAS AWWWSOME!

[airtechem]

how high is the roof

[JeffersonLab]

@airtechem It's about 6 meters from the top of the table to the lowest part of the ceiling.

[MultiSharpshot]

If you made the electromagnet longer and chilled the ring to absolute zero what woul happen

[JeffersonLab]

@MultiSharpshot If you change the magnet so that you get greater magnetic flux, the ring will go higher. Cooling the ring more will help it go higher, to a point. Energy still has to be conserved. The maximum height of the ring is limited by the energy the magnet can give to it. Copper doesn't become superconductive, so there will always be a bit of resistive heating.

[BRyanS72]

What would happen if the copper ring was cold enough to be superconductive?

[JeffersonLab]

@BRyanS72 As it turns out, copper is never superconductive, no matter how cold you get it. But, if it were, it would go a bit higher than the ring cooled in liquid nitrogen. The limiting factor in how high the ring will go is the magnetic coil. It can only provide so much energy to the ring.

[hunt3rxwl]

I can see it now someone tries to pickpocket Joanna and sticks his hand into liquid nitrogen.. Revenge is a dish best served extremely cold

[VORTEXSWIRL]

i have to wait...20 minutes...just to watch one of your 3 miniute videos...and i just want to say...it is worth it!!! :D your vids are great! ^^

[JeffersonLab]

@VORTEXSWIRL Why the long wait? Slow connection? In any event, thanks for sticking with it!

[Kiddolioable]

@VORTEXSWIRL that happens too, theres a way tho, just refresh the page :)

[MuF123]

I knew there will be a difference in room temperature vs liquid nitrogen temperature, but the actual effect is really breathtaking...

[JeffersonLab]

@MuF123 And really hard to catch well on camera!

[JeffersonLab]

@juliogbox Liquid helium is significantly more expensive than liquid nitrogen and it takes more of it to cool the same object. We can more or less play freely with liquid nitrogen. But, maybe one day we'll break out some liquid helium.

[AceOfShadows10001]

@JeffersonLab does liquid helium make helium gas?

[JeffersonLab]

@AceOfShadows10001 Yes, when liquid helium boils, it makes helium gas. That isn't how you get helium gas though. Usually, you start with helium gas and cool it to get liquid helium.

[AceOfShadows10001]

@JeffersonLab ahh ok thanks

[meowmeow5]

would you care to disclose how much you pay per litre or per gallon?

we are interested!!

[JeffersonLab]

@meowmeow5 In the volumes we purchase, liquid nitrogen costs us about $1 per gallon.

[meowmeow5]

@JeffersonLab this is really cheap, wish i live in america and try some experiments, god darn it, living in the uk is good at times

[JeffersonLab]

@meowmeow5 I'm sure they have liquid nitrogen in the UK. You should be able to find some if you really want to.

[Vanity666Angel]

@JeffersonLab Is there a facebook page for this?

[JeffersonLab]

@Vanity666Angel Jefferson Lab has a Facebook page, but there isn't a seperate one for the Frostbite Theater videos, if that is what you were asking.

[meowmeow5]

why won't you film the process of making liquid nitrogen, i bet all people would be interested in this

[JeffersonLab]

@meowmeow5 Well, we don't actually make it. We just buy it from a vendor. We've thought about asking them if we could come out and film at their plant, but there's still low hanging fruit to pick.

[je2555]

if you supercool a diamagnetic metal, such as zinc, will this lower its resistance enough to make it move when you expose it to a strong magnetic field?

[JeffersonLab]

@je2555 Interesting question. I don't know the answer to that. Hmmm...

[poelske1]

it would be so awesome to do outside!

[sctubish]

Great video and explanation of resistance, etc. Do you know of a site that could explain the way the device works in a little more detail? Not certain I quite got the whole Lenz law/eddy currents thing straight.

[JeffersonLab]

Try the hyperphysics site. They do a nice job explaining things.

[sctubish]

In regards to the 400 metal rods inside the tube (from your site on construction): would it be just as effective if you used a solid piece of metal?

[JeffersonLab]

No, you really need a segmented core. If the core is solid, currents will develop in it just like they do in the solid ring. Energy is conserved, so if you can keep the currents out of the core, more energy will go into the ring.

[ChowderMania2]

KOL i seen this in Cosi :D!

[JeffersonLab]

Center of Science and Industry?

[TheMetalhead01]

you should use a niobium ring and freeze it and do that cause niobium has almost no resistance

[JeffersonLab]

We actually use niobium in our accelerator because it becomes superconductive. Unfortunately, liquid nitrogen isn't cold enough to do this. Liquid helium is required.

[TheMetalhead01]

can you get your hands on some liquid helium if you could that would be awsome

[JeffersonLab]

We have a lot of it, but it isn't as freely available as liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen is also more convenient to use in these demos, but we'll see...

[WhutsUrNaym]

@TheMetalhead01 In order to liquefy helium, you would have to cool it to below -450 degrees Fahrenheit.

[67tr876]

can i make one with AC power ? all i have seen are like 200 volt-800 volt DC.

[JeffersonLab]

This device does run on AC power. The instructions can be found on our website. Since I can't put links in the comments section (annoying), you'll have to do a Google search for 'ring fling machine'. You are looking for a result that looks like "Jefferson Lab's Workbench Projects - The Ring Fling Machine".

[67tr876]

o cool thanks man

[TheTarrMan]

You should stack a bunch of rings on there. Or even some powerful magnets although I don't think that will work.

[Zachry86]

Im amazed how much effect that had..... Cool!

How about a super-conductor ring? hehe

[ProfetaParanoia]

awesome video!!

[gravekeep89]

what if you had a copper shell with a steel core used in a rail gun would the same concept apply? would it increase speed

[JeffersonLab]

In a rail gun current passes through the projectile itself. Lowering the resistance of the projectile could only help. I'm not certain to what extent, though.

Keep in mind that the current in our ring was induced by a changing magnetic field while, in a rail gun, the projectile completes a circuit and current flows through it as a result. At the end of the day, current is current, regardless of how it is made.

[Reborneed]

Lol that's awesome.

[IntelligenceQuota]

The frost disappearing was so cool! :P

I'm definitely subscribing to this channel - you guys have some great videos.

[experimentboy]

Awesome experiment !!

good work !

[Filos247]

That's one cool video!

*ducks*

[Scootchinman]

Fastinating! You guys do a great job with these videos, always interesting and fun to watch! Thanks for putting in the time to do them :-)

[DarkTrunksGeorgeSim]

Thanks that was cool. Now that you're playing with electricity, can you try to make a supermagnet like those used in the LHC?

Money? Ehem...look! A paper explaining quantum leaps! *runs away*

[JeffersonLab]

We actually do have superconductive magnets on site. Hmmm....

[DaCaSh100]

wow amazing =)

[turner850]

Man it takes soo much liquid nitrogen to fill up that bowl.

[JeffersonLab]

Better too much liquid nitrogen than too little.

[arashigoldenboy]

Interesting, thanks for making this video!

Never fails to make me laugh at the last part of your videos ^^

[vulture97]

I'm the first person to view this!

[JeffersonLab]

And the first to make a comment!