Liquid nitrogen: how to make it last.
other · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 8538548.
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Abstract
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.