Nitrous oxide facts for kids
Nitrous oxide is a gas with the chemical formula N2O. It is found naturally in the air. It is also made artificially, because it has many uses. It is a very strong greenhouse gas (almost 300 times more so than carbon dioxide). Because it is a greenhouse gas, people are trying to use it less.
Uses
Nitrous oxide is used by doctors and dentists to reduce pain. In the body, it makes people feel happy. For this reason it is also called "laughing gas".
Nitrous oxide is used in high performance cars to increase the power of their engines. When it is used this way, it is usually called "nitrous" or "NOS".
Nitrous oxide can also be used in aerosol spray cans, especially for foods like whipped cream. This is because it has a sweet taste and is not toxic, and also makes the whipped cream more fluffy.
Images for kids
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Food-grade N2O whipped-cream chargers
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Medical-grade N2O tanks used in dentistry
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Aquatint depiction of a laughing gas party in the nineteenth century, by Thomas Rowlandson
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Street sign indicating ban of nitrous oxide use near the Poelestraat in Groningen.
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Sir Humphry Davy's Researches chemical and philosophical: chiefly concerning nitrous oxide (1800), pages 556 and 557 (right), outlining potential anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide in relieving pain during surgery
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Nitrous oxide production
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Nitrous oxide (N2O) measured by the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) in the lower atmosphere (troposphere) at stations around the world. Abundances are given as pollution free monthly mean mole fractions in parts-per-billion.
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Nitrous oxide atmospheric concentration since 1978.
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Annual growth rate of atmospheric nitrous oxide since 2000.
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Earth's nitrous oxide budget from the Global Carbon Project (2020).
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Trends in the atmospheric abundance of long-lived greenhouse gases
See also
In Spanish: Óxido de nitrógeno(I) para niños
