29 Facts About Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula O At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a slightly sweet scent and taste.

At elevated temperatures, nitrous oxide is a powerful oxidiser similar to molecular oxygen.

Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain reducing effects.

Nitrous oxide is used as a propellant, and has a variety of applications from rocketry to making whipped cream.

Nitrous oxide has been the oxidiser of choice in several hybrid rocket designs.

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In vehicle racing, nitrous oxide allows the engine to burn more fuel by providing more oxygen during combustion.

Nitrous oxide is a strong oxidising agent, roughly equivalent to hydrogen peroxide, and much stronger than oxygen gas.

Sometimes nitrous oxide is injected into the intake manifold, whereas other systems directly inject, right before the cylinder (direct port injection) to increase power.

Since nitrous oxide allows a much denser charge into the cylinder, it dramatically increases cylinder pressures.

Carbon diNitrous oxide cannot be used for whipped cream because it is acidic in water, which would curdle the cream and give it a seltzer-like "sparkling" sensation.

Nitrous oxide has been used in dentistry and surgery, as an anaesthetic and analgesic, since 1844.

Nitrous oxide is a weak general anaesthetic, and so is generally not used alone in general anaesthesia, but used as a carrier gas for more powerful general anaesthetic drugs such as sevoflurane or desflurane.

Inhalation of nitrous oxide is used frequently to relieve pain associated with childbirth, trauma, oral surgery and acute coronary syndrome.

Nitrous oxide is a significant occupational hazard for surgeons, dentists and nurses.

Where nitrous oxide is administered, a continuous-flow fresh-air ventilation system or O scavenger system is used to prevent a waste-gas buildup.

Nitrous oxide is neurotoxic and long-term or habitual use can cause severe neurological damage.

Occupational exposure to ambient nitrous oxide has been associated with DNA damage, due to interruptions in DNA synthesis.

Effects of inhaling sub-anaesthetic doses of nitrous oxide have been known to vary, based on several factors, including settings and individual differences; however, from his discussion, Jay suggests that it has been reliably known to induce the following states and sensations:.

Nitrous oxide is a colourless, non-toxic gas with a faint, sweet odour.

Today, nitrous oxide is used in dentistry as an anxiolytic, as an adjunct to local anaesthetic.

Nitrous oxide was not found to be a strong enough anaesthetic for use in major surgery in hospital settings, however.

Colton's popularisation of nitrous oxide led to its adoption by a number of less than reputable quacksalvers, who touted it as a cure for consumption, scrofula, catarrh and other diseases of the blood, throat and lungs.

Nitrous oxide is a minor component of Earth's atmosphere and is an active part of the planetary nitrogen cycle.

Nitrous oxide has significant global warming potential as a greenhouse gas.

Nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere through agriculture, when farmers add nitrogen-based fertilizers onto the fields, through the breakdown of animal manure.

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Approximately 79 percent of all nitrous oxide released in the United States came from nitrogen fertilization.

Nitrous oxide is released as a by-product of burning fossil fuel, though the amount released depends on which fuel was used.

The total amount of nitrous oxide released that is of human origins is about 40 percent.

In New Zealand, the Ministry of Health has warned that nitrous oxide is a prescription medicine, and its sale or possession without a prescription is an offense under the Medicines Act.