Another fun thing to do with alcohol and LN2: if you have Everclear handy (the 95% stuff, not the 80%
"Everclear" sold in some states), pour a bunch in a
cup that can take LN2 temperatures without breaking
and then stir it rapidly while pouring a thin stream of LN2 in. If you do it right, the alcohol will turn into a viscous liquid, very much like molten glass, instead of freezing. If you accidentally freeze it,
just let it warm up until you can stir it.
It won't work with low-proof liquor.
When it's in this state you can slowly pour a thick stream off of a spoon, or dump a blob into
a drink to cool it down.
Be careful, though; if you foolishly try to taste
it you're liable to end up with lip-frostbite
<cough>.
I think this is the most serendipitous thing we
came across in a great deal of playing with LN2.
You can buy LN2 in almost any locale - just find a
welding/gas supply store. We've been making this
for years, occasionally while travelling and on short
notice (a bride once asked us the day before her
wedding to make it at the wedding!), and it's always
easy to find LN2. For the wedding, we had a much harder time finding a really-heavy-duty wooden
spoon for the stirring than we did finding LN2.
Not all LN2 suppliers have dewars for rent, though.
The LN2 price varies a lot over time, and sometimes they
make it up on the spot (really - no price list!) depending on what they think
you're going to use it for. If they think you're a doctor using it to remove warts they're liable
to charge you 10x the price they'll charge if they
think you're using it to freeze bull semen. At that sort of place you have to open an account to get a fixed price.
Other places have specific prices that are much
higher for "medical grade" LN2 than for "industrial grade". They'll happily tell you that
it comes from the same tank - the only difference
is the type of insurance associated with it.
Also, most places will charge a different $/L
depending on how much you buy - e.g. $15 for a 5L
dewar, $45 for a 30L dewar. And most don't have
meters on the filling hardware, so they won't fill
a dewar part way (or if they do, they charge full
price anyway).
We've never had a supplier express any concern over what we're going to do with it. If we bother to tell them they usually think it's fascinating. The place in Seattle where we rented a dewer for the wedding even gave us a steep discount because they were so amused by the idea.
Slashdot Mirror
When it's in this state you can slowly pour a thick stream off of a spoon, or dump a blob into a drink to cool it down. Be careful, though; if you foolishly try to taste it you're liable to end up with lip-frostbite <cough>.
I think this is the most serendipitous thing we came across in a great deal of playing with LN2.
Not all LN2 suppliers have dewars for rent, though. The LN2 price varies a lot over time, and sometimes they make it up on the spot (really - no price list!) depending on what they think you're going to use it for. If they think you're a doctor using it to remove warts they're liable to charge you 10x the price they'll charge if they think you're using it to freeze bull semen. At that sort of place you have to open an account to get a fixed price. Other places have specific prices that are much higher for "medical grade" LN2 than for "industrial grade". They'll happily tell you that it comes from the same tank - the only difference is the type of insurance associated with it. Also, most places will charge a different $/L depending on how much you buy - e.g. $15 for a 5L dewar, $45 for a 30L dewar. And most don't have meters on the filling hardware, so they won't fill a dewar part way (or if they do, they charge full price anyway).
We've never had a supplier express any concern over what we're going to do with it. If we bother to tell them they usually think it's fascinating. The place in Seattle where we rented a dewer for the wedding even gave us a steep discount because they were so amused by the idea.