Tanker accident
DT wrote:
Actually quite real.
Nitrogen supercools tarmac.
Oxygen condenses on tarmac, soaks in.
Tarmac goes boom as it warms up, or a fly lands on it.
Interesting, although I don't recall any warnings about this in all my years of
working with cryogenics, though. LN2 isn't all that much colder than the
condensation temperature of oxygen (-270 F) but if the tarmac got to full LN2
temp (-320 F) it could work. Certainly LN2 doesn't cause oxygen to condense
appreciably in typical lab conditions.
But you've not got whole tanker-loads of LN2.
I'm not saying it's certain to happen, just that there may be a risk.
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