Why is nitrous oxide called laughing gas
In 1772, British chemist John Priestley discovered a gas. After he prepared a bottle of gas, he threw a burning piece of charcoal into it, and the charcoal burned more brightly than it did in the air. He referred to it as "oxygen" because of its combustion-boosting properties. However, this gas has a slightly "pleasant" sweet taste, and unlike odorless, tasteless oxygen, it also dissolves in water and is much more soluble than oxygen. What it is has become a "mystery" to be solved.
Twenty-six years later, in 1798, a young experimenter arrived in Priestley's laboratory. His name was David. David had a brave spirit of loyalty to his duty, and all the gases he prepared would be personally "sniffed a few times" to understand its physiological effect on people. When David took a few sips of the gas, a strange thing happened: he laughed out loud and danced around the lab, and it was a long time before he became quiet. Therefore, this gas is called "laughing gas". It's a relative of nitrogen called N2O.
Nitrous oxide is a dangerous chemical, and the operation and sale of hazardous chemicals need to apply for the operation license.
Uses of nitrous oxide
1. Accelerant
Modified vehicles using nitrogen-oxygen acceleration systems feed nitrous oxide into the engine, which decomposing into nitrogen and oxygen when heated, increasing the engine combustion rate and increasing speed. Oxygen helps fuel burn faster.
2. Rocket oxidizer
Nitrous oxide can be used as a rocket oxidizer. This has advantages over other oxidants because it is non-toxic, stable at room temperature, easy to store and relatively safe to fly. The second advantage is that it can be easily broken down into breathable air.
3, food processing AIDS
It is used in the food industry as blowing agent and sealant.
4. Medicine
Nitrous oxide, often used with halothane, methoxy-flurane, ether or intravenous general anesthetics due to poor anesthetic effect. It is now used sparingly. N2O is used for anesthesia, has no irritation to respiratory tract, and has no damage to the functions of heart, lung, liver, kidney and other important organs. In the body without any biological transformation or degradation, most of the original drug is still excreted with exhalation, only a small amount of evaporation from the skin, no accumulation.
The dangers of nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas", is a narcotic gas used clinically as an inhalation anesthetic that can make people feel relaxed, happy, and even hallucinate. Although the harm of laughing gas is not as good as other drugs, laughing gas is also harmful to the human body. Nitrous oxide was once widely used in medical surgery. But "laughing gas" into the blood can lead to a lack of oxygen in the body, long-term use may cause high blood pressure, fainting, and even heart attacks. In addition, long-term exposure to such gases can also cause anemia and central nervous system damage.
Nitrous oxide has long been used in medicine as an inhaled anesthetic, but it is now rarely used. Inhalation of a mixture of nitrous oxide and air, which can cause suffocation when oxygen concentration is very low; Inhalation of a mixture of 80% nitrous oxide and oxygen leads to deep anesthesia, usually with no after-effects after recovery. However, long-term or large dose abuse will affect the absorption of vitamin B12, resulting in pernicious anemia, peripheral nerve and spinal cord lesions, numbness of the hands and feet and other symptoms; It can also cause mental abnormalities, such as lethargy, depression, or confusion, which can be life-threatening in severe cases.