ELi5: How is liquid nitrogen super cold and in the form of liquid when the container itself is in a room temperature environment?
In: 0
Do an experiment: Go to your refrigerator and pull an ice cube out of the freezer section.
It’s a solid, even though the environment around it is waaaaay above the melting point of water. How can this be?
We’re seeing the difference between kinetics and thermodynamics. If you wait a while, the system will come to equlibrium, the room will be (slightly) cooler, and the ice will now be water. But heat transfer takes time.
Eventually, your liquid nitrogen will turn to a gas. How fast depends on ambient conditions and what container it’s in.
Latest Answers