About Liquid Oxygen

Rocket fuel is only one of liquid oxygen's many applications.
••• Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

Liquid oxygen is the liquid form of the gaseous oxygen necessary for human life. It has many uses, but there are also definite dangers involved in working with liquid oxygen.

History

Liquid oxygen was first created under laboratory conditions in on April 5, 1883. This was achieved by a compressor created by Polish chemists Karol Olszewski and Zygmunt Wróblewski at Jagiellonian University in Cracov.

Production

To produce liquid oxygen, air is compressed and cooled to -196 degrees Celsius. The gases in the air are liquid at this point before the room is heated -183, reverting the nitrogen in the air to gas and leaving only liquid oxygen behind.

Features

Liquid oxygen is pale blue in color and extremely cold. It is stored under pressure in specially designed metal containers.

Uses

Liquid oxygen is used in cryogenics. It is also used in the production of rocket fuel and can be used to make explosives.

Warnings

Liquid oxygen is non-toxic, but its extremely low temperatures can cause severe burns rather quickly and can also make structural items brittle and dangerously unstable. Liquid oxygen is also highly flammable.

Related Articles

How to Calculate Liquid Oxygen to Gaseous Oxygen
Why Is the Spillage of Liquid Oxygen Upon Asphalt Pavement...
10 Uses for Oxygen
The Differences of Oxygen & Oxygen Gas
What Is Propylene Glycol
How to Calculate the CFM of a Blower
Types of Gas Welding
What Is Chlorine Dioxide?
How to Separate Oxygen From Liquid Air
How is Iron Made Into Steel?
Physical and Chemical Properties for the Element Aluminum
How to Make Bromine Water in the Chemistry Lab
What Gases Make Up the Air We Breathe?
What Is the Density of CO2?
Difference Between 316 & 308 Stainless Steel
What is Ethanolic Potassium Hydroxide?
Transition Metals & Their Uses
How to Convert Gas From a Volume Percent to a Weight...
What Is Inconel?
What Are the Uses of Carbon Dioxide Gas?