I'm thinking of using liquid nitrogen to make ice-cream. I just want to know if there could be pathogens in the tank?
Yes there could be. I did research on that last year. Bacteria can be anywhere because you cannot see it. It is invisible. Any kind of bacteria can be anywhere!
There are many standing on the sidewalk, especially in the downtown area, all covered in ice and with ruber tubes snaking underground somewhere. I found a picture here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilywhetst one/18715430/in/set-401333/
My only guess is cryogenic cooling for quantum-encrypted communication channels used to transmit sensitive financial information between banks, but surely there must be a simpler explanation.
"A. Dry-cleaning with chemistry! But before you get images of Nynex workers freezing their fingers off while washing with supercold liquids, here are the facts. Nynex has many, many three-inch cables running under the streets, each of which contains 3,600 pairs of copper wires (each pair carries a conversation). Steam, created by subways and heating vents, sometimes gets inside these cables and causes crossed connections and corrosion of the copper wires, said Bob Varettoni, a spokesman for Nynex."
Wow! That was hard to find!
I first noticed it when I lived in downtown LA. Then they started popping up in San Diego and now that I am here in New York, they are everwhere. Isn't this a slight risk?
The tanks aren't normally left out on the street. But some commercial spaces like restaurants, stores, etc. place them there due to lack of space. They are used for refrigeration. Or they are empty tanks awaiting pick up by a commercial gas company. Theres no real risk if they are empty.
Mike shows how to fill a smaller hand dewar with liquid nitrogen from a large pressurized LN2 tank. Video by Edwin Ettleman
I spotted liquid nitrogen tanks at the corner of East 9th Street and University Place. Being a sucker for liquid nitrogen tanks (per this other post of mine here: http://rogerpaw.blogspot.com/2011/04/liquid-nitrogen-trickster.html ), I thought I'd mosey on up to these tanks to take a few snaps. In case you aren't aware, from time to time the city uses liquid nitrogen to cool underground cables in order to keep them from overheating, etc. Upon closer inspection, I couldn't help but notice what a nice arrangement the other items on this corner made! The end of the broken cable was hissing air. Oh dear. Not good. Liquid nitrogen may start coming out next! Not only that, if the street under the manhole cover got too hot, the manhole cover could pop off from the pressure and potentially cause serious damage. The memory of a steam pipe explosion a few years ago in the city came instantly to mind and made me think I should call for help and not just ignore the situation. When that steam pipe exploded, it caused havoc to the people in the vicinity. A woman died of a heart attack while running from the scene and a couple of guys in a truck were severely burned by the heat of the steam. Read more about that story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/nyregion/19explode.html Although I could tell the manhole cover the cable was meant to go under was not steaming or in danger of exploding, I crossed the street and made a call to 311, our non-emergency help line. I told the operator the reason for my call and after speaking with her supervisor about the situation, she told me she'd patch me through to 911. A 911 dispatcher got on the line so I relayed what I found to her. She said she'd send a FDNY truck over to check it out. Within about two minutes, I could hear the siren of the truck coming. Here it is at the back: A police cruiser pulled up to check out the scene as well. Two officers got out. The fireman above pointed me out and told them I called the job in. The...
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Two tractor trailers involved in overnight crash on 490 Deputies say the first truck slid into another lane, into the path of another truck that was carrying liquid nitrogen. is told the crash punctured a hole in the fuel tank of that truck, causing a small gas leak. Firefighters were called in |