I am looking to snap freeze water samples located inside a rate freezer at subzero temperatures. By transporting liquid nitrogen through a copper tube adjacent to the vials containing the water samples, crystallization should be initiated. The copper tube will be connected to a flexible rubber hose, to avoid stiring the samples when the door to the freezer is closed. I will of course make sure that the door does not press the hose flat/close the hole.
I have read that the liquid nitrogen will start to expand as it touches a hollow pipe and start to spurt, which makes this setup seem quite dangerous.
My questions: How do I get the liquid nitrogen into the hose and through the system? And is this whole setup even possible and safe?
- Thanks in advance
Copper tubing, rubber hose sounds to be a recipe for accident, perhaps even life threatening. Dont even consider fooling with liquid nitrogen without safety gear and someone highly experienced in its properties, Storage, use, safety, etc. The expansion is apt to bust copper tubing, the extreme cold make rubber brittle.
Thank you for your concern William Hansen. We do have experienced staff who have worked with liquid nitrogen many times before. I will of course consult them as soon as the holidays end. The uses of liquid nitrogen at my institution usually stays the same though. I do not think that what I am trying to build, falls within the range of things that are normally built. So along with the holidays commencing and the range of experienced scientists on Research Gate, I thought I would give it a try. I am wondering if oxygen in a container within a liquid nitrogen bath could be a substitute to the liquid nitrogen, to lead through the pipes?
Maybe this would be of interest, but probably not on sale yet, and somewhat pricey. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=phdsB5V84Kg
I used to have to repair broken water copper pipes that froze and split, (the old days of owning a mobile home in the midwest US). No fun.
That looks quite interesting! Sadly, I do not think it is very applicable, as I need to lower the temperature at a certain rate (Frigondas do not seem to have this function) and snap freeze the supercooled samples while keeping a relatively constant temperature in the rate freezer.
I can imagine fixing broken copper pipes in the cold is no fun! Luckily, I will have technicians aiding me in the technical part of the experiment. I just need to come up with the good ideas, so here I am ;)
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