Chad Orzel points to a collection of amusing science “merit badges”. In particular, Chad highlights:
The “has frozen stuff just to see what happens” badge (LEVEL III).
In which the recipient has frozen something in liquid nitrogen for
the sake of scientific curiosity.
Ah, how I miss liquid nitrogen. Back in the day, we had this thing called the Physics Circus, where we’d go out to local elementary schools and give physics demonstrations to the kids. It is amazing how enthusiastic third and fourth graders can be. If you ask a bunch of fourth graders “how do you think this worked?” you get a forest of hands shooting up, and all sorts of wonderful ideas. Of course, you have to catch them at the right age, because just a couple years later, they transform into sullen middle schoolers. But right before that, kids are amazing little scientists.
Anyway, we had a boatload of demonstrations about electricity, Newtonian mechanics (the weighted bicycle wheel in the spinny chair, that sort of thing). But the one the kids really loved was the liquid demonstration. Unlike the other demonstrations, there really wasn’t much scientific content to the liquid nitrogen segment of the show. The message was basically, “freezing things with liquid nitrogen and breaking them is really cool.”
Personally, I was less interested in breaking things with liquid nitrogen and more interested in just playing with the stuff. I used to pour a few drops on my hand and watch the droplets skitter across the surface, like water droplets on a hot stove (in fact, exactly like water droplets on a hot stove). If you were careful, you could also stick your hand directly in a dewar of liquid nitrogen. One professor I knew would pour a little liquid nitrogen in his hand, slurp it up, and shoot steam out of his nostrils. I never dared try that. He had achieved a sort of Liquid Nitrogen Zen Mastery.
Of course the best of all was the liquid nitrogen ice cream. You just get the ingredients for ice cream as if you were going to make it using a traditional ice cream machine, with the rock salt and everything. But instead of turning the crank for an hour, you just pour the ingredients in a bowl, pour in the liquid nitrogen, and stir, stir, stir. Vapor pours out of the bowl like a witches cauldron, and in less than five minutes you have smooth, creamy ice cream. The bubbling during the freezing process aerates the ice cream perfectly, and it all freezes too fast to form any ice crystals. Liquid nitrogen! It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking some up.
Man, we need a liquid-nitrogen tap, to go next to the cold-water and ice ones on the freezer. We’d never need to buy commercial ice-cream again.
Totally! Plus, making LN2 ice cream is an awesome party trick. If you have a liquid nitrogen tap, *everyone* will want to hang out at your place.
Wrong career choice! Come join us cryogenic instrument designers and you can have all the liquid nitrogen you want. I’ve made liquid nitrogen ice cream for a few birthday parties. Always a hit. I am sure we’ll be doing it for Ella’s parties in a few years.
Something you probably did not want to know: it’s handy for getting rid of warts. Saves an annoying trip or two to the doctor.
Well, I just don’t know about being a cryogenic instrument designer. I mean don’t get me wrong, that world seems like fun, what with all the drugs and the 24/7 lifestyle and the SQUIDs and the hot physics groupies and all the free liquid nitrogen you can handle. But man, have you seen what cryogenic instrument designers look like at the age of 50? Those that even *make* it to 50? You can’t burn the candle at both ends without paying the price…
I was trying to work in a joke about “burning the SQUID at both ends” or some such. But I just couldn’t get the bat off my shoulder. Hmmph.
I miss LN ice cream so much. I don’t usually eat strawberry ice cream, in part because it doesn’t taste like the strawberry LN ice cream we used to make, and I’m always disappointed.
There’s an ice cream store here in town, Blue Sky Cremery, that uses LN in their ice cream making, and they have a strawberry flavor. It’s not quite the same, but it’s close enough!
>> You can’t burn the candle at both ends without paying the price…
But can you *freeze* it at both ends?
Hi,
I am inquiring about a specific complete line of ice cream maker machines. I must explain that size and how this type of ice cream gets produced is very essential. Currently there are 3 companies in the USA called: http://www.minimelts.com http://www.dippindots.com http://www.mollicoolz.com making such ice cream. I do appreciate if you could help me find manufacturer or put me in touch with companies that supply equipments to the above companies.
Best Regards,
Mehdi Abed
Hi,
I am inquiring about a specific complete line of ice cream maker machines. I must explain that size and how this type of ice cream gets produced is very essential. Currently there are 3 companies in the USA called: http://www.minimelts.com http://www.dippindots.com http://www.mollicoolz.com making such ice cream. I do appreciate if you could help me find manufacturer or put me in touch with companies that supply equipments to the above companies.
Best Regards,
Mehdi Abed
Hi I was so excited when I found Molli Coolz in the food store where I shop for groceries. The first time I ate these things was in Texas several years ago while my son was taking us sight seeing. I loved them then when I came home a lady had opened an icecream parlor here in my hometown but she didn’t last too long. Can I order these and have them shipped to me or do I have to get them through a grocery chain. They didn’t seem to have but a few I’d like to get some for my friends if possible. They are delicious. I bought the banana split. They also had a couple of cookies & Cream. Thanks for any information you can give me. Belle Elkins
Hi I was so excited when I found Molli Coolz in the food store where I shop for groceries. The first time I ate these things was in Texas several years ago while my son was taking us sight seeing. I loved them then when I came home a lady had opened an icecream parlor here in my hometown but she didn’t last too long. Can I order these and have them shipped to me or do I have to get them through a grocery chain. They didn’t seem to have but a few I’d like to get some for my friends if possible. They are delicious. I bought the banana split. They also had a couple of cookies & Cream. Thanks for any information you can give me. Belle Elkins