Frostbite Theater - Liquid Nitrogen Experiments

What happens when a nice, fresh carnation is plunged into a container full of liquid nitrogen? Play the video to find out!

Announcer: Frostbite Theater presents... Cold Cuts! No baloney!

Joanna and Steve: Just science!

Joanna: Hi! I'm Joanna!

Steve: And I'm Steve!

Joanna: And this is a container of liquid nitrogen!

Steve: And this is my favorite carnation!

Joanna: Let's see what happens when we place Steve's favorite carnation in the liquid nitrogen!

Steve: Uh... Okay!

The flower's at room temperature, but the nitrogen is 196 degrees below zero Celsius, or 321 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

Joanna: Because the carnation is so much hotter than the liquid nitrogen, it's causing the nitrogen to start boiling rapidly.

Steve: Look! My flower's okay! It's a little foggy, but a little fog never hurt anyone, right?

Joanna: Actually... (crunch) it's not!

Steve: Why?!

Joanna: The carnation is full of water. When we placed it in the liquid nitrogen, all the water froze and turned to ice. Since it's full of ice, when I squeeze it, it broke.

Steve: So, wait a minute. My hand's mostly made out of water, too. So, if I were to stick my hand in there...

Joanna: No! The same thing would happen to you!

Steve: Really?

Joanna: Yeah.

Steve: Oh!

Joanna: Thanks for watching! I hope you'll join us again soon for another experiment!

Steve: Guess I gotta get a new flower...