FAQ about nitrous oxide
The N2O gas was discovered by Joseph Priestley in 1772, who called it phlogisticated nitrous air. Humphry Davy in the 1790s tested the gas on himself and some of his friends, including the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. They soon realized that nitrous oxide considerably dulled the sensation of pain, even if the inhaler were still semi-conscious. And so it came into use as an anaesthetic, particularly by dentists, who do not typically have access to the services of an anesthesiologist and who may benefit from a patient who can respond to verbal commands.
Aerosol propellant
The gas is licensed for use as a food additive (also known as E942), specifically as an aerosol spray propellant. Its most common uses in this context are in aerosol whipped cream canisters and as an inert gas used to displace staleness-inducing oxygen when filling packages of potato chips and other similar snack foods.
The gas is extremely soluble in fatty compounds. In aerosol whipped cream, it is dissolved in the fatty cream until it leaves the can, when it becomes gaseous and thus creates foam. Used in this way, it produces whipped cream four times the volume of the liquid, whereas whipping air into cream only produces twice the volume. If air were used as a propellant, under increased pressure the oxygen would accelerate rancidification of the butterfat, while nitrous oxide inhibits such degradation.
Nitrous oxide, also known as dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide, is a chemical compound with chemical formula N2O. Under room conditions, it is a colourless non-inflammable gas, with a pleasant, slightly-sweet odor. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anaesthetic and analgesic effects. It is also used as a means to enable short periods of extreme high performance in automobile internal combustion engines by introducing extra oxygen into the intake charge which in turn allows a greater amount of fuel to be added and converted into energy and thereby greatly increasing the power produced by the engine. Nitrous oxide is present in the atmosphere.
