Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Tom's Hardware
Enthusiast makes their own liquid nitrogen with readily available refrigeration components
By Christopher Harper,
3 days ago
Liquid nitrogen (LN2) is a substance with a boiling point of -196 degrees Celsius (or -320 degrees Fahrenheit), and typically those who want to use it need to buy it directly or use incredibly specialized equipment to cool regular nitrogen themselves. Recently, though, YouTuber Hyperspace Pirate proved that you can actually cool your own nitrogen into real liquid nitrogen at home, albeit with the help of refrigeration components scavenged from several refrigerators and air conditioning units.
Instead, Hyperspace Pirate mainly relegated his batches of self-made LN2 to freezing and shattering objects that otherwise do not shatter — like oranges and a salad — as well as a chunk of YBCO (Yttrium Barium Copper Oxide) that functions as a superconductor when cooled with LN2 (see top image). This YBCO was able to levitate a small magnet, but lost superconductivity when the test was repeated with a larger magnet and temperatures got too high.
So, is there an actual value proposition here? If you have the technical expertise and access to lots of air conditioning units and refrigerators you don't need, maybe. For the sake of this video, Hyperspace Pirate skimmed over making (or teaching viewers to make) their own liquid nitrogen, though indicated that the detailed process would be a topic for later.
The final cooling system proved capable of producing 130cc of LN2 per hour, at a rough total cost of $1.29 per liter. Compared to the $5 per liter you would need to buy it yourself, that is a fair amount of price savings for those intent on regularly using LN2 for whatever reason. Hyperspace Pirate also says that if the process can be improved as much as he expects, yields could double or more to up to 300cc of LN2 per hour, which would make it an even more interesting proposition.
Overall, though, we doubt many of you are going to be racing to disassemble your refrigerator or air conditioners to make your home LN2 anytime soon. That anyone is capable of pulling it off at all is truly impressive, though, and that they shared an extended video detailing the process only makes it that much better.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0