Is it possible to make 'dry ice', or anything resembling it, at home?

Question

Can dry ice, or anything like it, be prduced in the home and, if so, how? I don't want a huge amount, just enough for a magic trick...

Answer 1

i dont think it's a good idea

Answer 2

You can't make dry ice at home. However, you can make a very close alternative. Dry Ice is characterised by it's low-level height (the fact that it stays close to the floor, so it looks like spooky fog). To make an alternative, use a smoke machine avaliable from most technical stores. Maplin sell them, as do Argos now. Look around. The difference between Dry Ice and Smoke is that smoke will float around and fill a room. What you need to do is make the smoke 'cold', so each smoke particle emerging from the smoke machine is 'heavier', and will stay closer to the ground. Buy a very cheap ice-box, the kind of thing that you take on picnics to keep your coke can's cold. Drill a hole in either side of the ice-box, and connect a hosepipe from the smoke machine to the ice-box. Fill the box with ice-cubes from your freezer. Turn the smoke machine on. The smoke comes out of the machine, through the pipe, into the ice-box. The ice in the box chill the smoke, so when the smoke emerges from the other side of the ice-box, it is mucher heavier and colder, and will stay close to the floor. Voila.

Answer 3

Yes. It can be done and I,ve seen it done but you need a source of the liquid CO2 which is in CO2 fire extinguishers.So long as you have a spare one of these it needs to be blown into a mould,say a metal can(NOT SEALED).The gas which in the bottle is at high pressure and at room temperature so when it expands it does as the gas laws predict and cools to a temperature less than dry ice so it builds up as an(CO2)ice layer in the shape of the mould.I believe the procees is quite common and commercial set ups can be bought for rare cases where dry ice supplies fail.(DONT TRY THIS WITHOUT GOOD VENTILATION AND PROTECTION AGAINST FROSTBITE).It looked pretty wasteful to me because the mould has to cool down below -80degC before the dry ice can start to build up.

Answer 4

dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide, a normal part of our earth`s atmosphere. it is a gas that we exhale during breathing and the gas that plants use in photosynthesis. it is also the same gas added to water to make soda water. dry ice is particularly useful for freezing, and keeping things frozen because of its very cold temperature



the first step in making dry ice is to compress carbon dioxide gas until it liquefies, at the same time removing the excess heat. the CO2 gas will liquefy at a certain pressure next, the pressure is reduced over the liquid carbon dioxide by sending it through an expansion valve into an empty chamber. the liquid will flash, with some turning into gas causing the remainder to cool. as the temperature drops , the temperature of frozen CO2 , some of it will freeze into snow. this dry ice snow is then compressed together under a large press to form blocks or extruded into various sized pellets. dry ice is much heavier than traditional ice, weighing about double.



dry ice machines are available in all sizes and use liquid CO2



if you want to make dry ice go to the website below, this will be great for your school project

Answer 5

I remember making dry ice in science at school for a project but you'll need a Co2 fire extinguisher.



if you can get hold of a small fire extinguisher you discharge the extinguisher covering the cone tightly with a cotton bag, as the Co2 passes through the cotton it condenses and forms lumps of dry ice inside the bag

Answer 6

Fire extinguishers are filled with CO2 and when they are used the CO2 comes out as white powder. This is dry ice. Dry ice can also be bought in blocks by the pound.

Answer 7

Hi



Get a small CO2 Fire Extinguisher.



Get a few socks and put them inside each other to make one thick sock, put it over the horn of the fire extinguisher, hold it on tight and discharge the extinguisher.



The sock will fill with dry ice.



Be carefull - use gloves and goggles when you are doing this.

Answer 8

that stuff can kill ya. its pure carbon dioxide. its in a frozen state at minus 80 deg cen. if you really want a party trick try get some liquid nitrigen!!! we buy dry ice for the bar i work in as it creates a waterfall effect for the back bar, also i throw some in the boiling hot water in the kitchen an d ... LOL ITS LIKE A WITCHES COLEDRUN!!!! AMAZING! i saw a label saying "heathrow dry ice" so google that!

Answer 9

no, u cant exactly make it, but u can buy it at safeway or albertsons or pretty much any grocery store.

Answer 10

put some air in your freezer!!