I brought my twin boys with me for my television appearance this week. They are really interested in the solar system so we’ve been learning about the different planets and their moons. Neptune’s moon, Triton, has nitrogen in it’s clouds in gas form, rivers of liquid nitrogen and nitrogen snow in solid form. It’s similar to water on Earth, but liquid nitrogen is very, very cold – 320 degrees below zero. We demonstrated the effect of liquid nitrogen clouds. Combined with hot water, liquid nitrogen creates clouds of water vapor. This was the biggest cloud we’ve ever made. It filled the television studio and rolled around the expensive HD cameras. Good thing they have insurance.
It’s always an honor to be invited to emcee a fundraising event – especially when the cause is near and dear to your heart. Formal events like the Littleton Public Schools Foundation Spirit Celebration are big and classy and attended by people who really care about this amazing school district in Littleton, Colorado. As emcee, I was asked to keep the night moving with light commentary and to maybe do something “special” with four outstanding high school scholarship recipients – Aminta Menjivar from Littleton High School, Quinn Booth from Arapahoe High School, Lilliane Hubbell from Heritage High School, and Ian Paxson from Options High School. Take a look…
Nothing says “good job” better than a tiny cloud bath on stage at a formal awards ceremony. So, if you’re thinking about inviting me to emcee your event, you might want to reconsider.
They say practice makes perfect. So, we were practicing for an upcoming live performance by setting off liquid nitrogen trash can explosions in our parking lot… and a few visitors showed up. We might have upset our neighbors.
Let’s start by saying, “Don’t try this at home… or anywhere for that matter.” The explosion is the biggest I’ve seen (outside of some military training!). Our good friends down at the Oklahoma Science Center do this demo as part of their Science LIVE show and it’s great. The demo team down at the Arizona Science Center shared their version of the liquid nitrogen explosion by covering the soda bottle with a trash can. When bottle blows, the trash can takes flight… much to the amusement of the kids.
You might be wondering how this kind of thing fits into a normal work day. The word “normal” is probably arguable, but it does happen. Several weeks ago, I was asked by the Colorado Rockies and 9News to help them kick off their first annual Science Day at Coors Field. The organizers want Kathy Sabine from 9News and I to do some weather related science experiments for about 5,000 kids. “Make it big” was my
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9News meteorologist Becky Ditchfield is never quite sure what to expect during the weekly science segment. I called her over the weekend and asked her to bring in an overcoat and to trade out the high heels for tennis shoes. The liquid nitrogen explosion surprised everyone…
