Like I know it is made from carbon dioxide but what actually makes it so special compared to normal ice? And why is it so dangerous if it is ice?
In: Chemistry
CO2 ‘melts’ at a temperature higher than it ‘boils’ (at sea level air pressure). This means that when it would be melting, it doesn’t turn into a liquid but instead into a gas (hence, *dry* ice). This is called “sublimation” (turning to gas) and “deposition” (turning to solid) to make it clear it’s something different than melting/boiling and freezing/condensing.
CO2 sublimates at a *much* lower temperature than ice. If you are used to how cold ice is and apply that knowledge to CO2 ice, then you will be touching something that is dangerously cold. This risks frostbite.
CO2 takes up *much* more volume as a gas than as a solid. This means that if you warm it up in a situation that is sealed with a constant volume (such as in a bottle), the extra volume the gas is trying to take up translates into extra pressure. This extra pressure can explode the container. Exploding high pressure containers vary in exactly how dangerous they are, but they can lead to serious injury pretty easily. (and if the ‘container’ is a person’s body, that’s an ouch)
CO2 is also CO2. As a gas, too much of it in a room will push out all of the O2. [And that’s bad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphyxia).
Edit to add: people use CO2 ice in food/drinks all the time. Anecdotally, you can add it to homemade soda (in a large, unsealed vat) to get a bit of carbonation to it, as well as cooling it down. So it’s not like it’s *dangerous* dangerous; just something to exercise awareness of and moderate caution.
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