How does dry ice work?

I'm doing a research project on dry ice for Science , but I don't fully understand how it works. I know that it uses sublimation and skips the liquid state but that's pretty much all I know!

1 Answer
anor277
Jan 29, 2018

#"Dry ice"# or #"card ice"# is solid #CO_2#....

Explanation:

Carbon dioxide does not exist in a liquid phase at #1*atm#. It sublimes, undergoes the transition solid to gas at #-78.5# #""^@C#...

Because of the low temperature of sublilmation, a dry-ice acetone or dry-ice ethanol condenser is very useful to use in the laboratory, and these are simply a hollow double-jacketed glass tube that is filled with dry ice pellets, and ethanol (or acetone) is carefully added to the jacket to chill down to #-78.5# #""^@C#.

http://fphoto.photoshelter.com/image/I0000JSpVo5rbyb4

Such condensers are often used to condense gaseous ammonia (which boils at #-44# #""^@C#). Liquid ammonia undergoes a very beautiful and colourful reaction with sodium....equivalent to the colourless reduction of water by sodium...

#NH_3(l) + Na(s) rarr NaNH_2(am) + 1/2H_2(g)uarr#

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