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Liquid nitrogen: how to make it last
1Newcrest Mining Group, Ora Banda, WA.
Aim:
To compare the rate of heat flow into two vacuum flasks with vacuum envelopes of different materials (glass and stainless steel).
Design:
Prospective non-randomised comparison (n = 2).
Setting:
Home (edge of the Great Sandy Desert), Sunday.
Outcome Measure:
Change in liquid nitrogen content over time.
Results:
Within eight hours, the flask with a stainless steel envelope lost almost all its nitrogen (about 800 g), while the flask with a glass envelope lost only about 100 g. The stainless steel flask therefore had a heat leakage rate about eight times that of the glass flask.
Conclusion:
A glass-lined vacuum flask is better for keeping liquid nitrogen cold (and coffee hot) than a steel-lined flask.
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Noble Gases
The elements in group 18 are noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon). They earned the name “noble” because they were assumed to be nonreactive since they have filled valence shells. In 1962, Dr. Neil Bartlett at the University of British Columbia proved this assumption to be false.
Molecular Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids
The Equilibrium Constant
Sublimation
The Joule and Joule–Thomson Experiments
Liquid–Solid Solutions

