Dry ice bomb
Encyclopedia
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
-like device. While the simplicity and ease of construction, high bursting pressure, and sound make this dry ice
Dry ice
Dry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" , is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is used primarily as a cooling agent. Its advantages include lower temperature than that of water ice and not leaving any residue...
activity appealing for recreational purposes, it can be unpredictable and dangerous, and has led to many injuries - and dry ice bombs are illegal in many jurisdictions.
Overview
A dry ice bomb is made from a container such as a plastic bottlePlastic bottle
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed of plastic, with a neck that is narrower than its real body and an opening at the top. The mouth of the bottle is normally sealed with a plastic bottle cap. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking...
, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, and dry ice
Dry ice
Dry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" , is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is used primarily as a cooling agent. Its advantages include lower temperature than that of water ice and not leaving any residue...
. The bottle is filled about quarter full of water, some dry ice is added, and the container shut tightly. As the solid carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
warms inside a bottle, it sublimates to a gas. The pressure inside the bottle increases as the quantity of gas increases with limited room to expand. Bombs will typically rupture within 30 seconds to 30 minutes, dependent largely on the temperature of the air outside the bottle. A dry ice bomb may develop a frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
on the bottle exterior prior to explosion. After explosion, a dry ice bomb will appear to have shattered, with the overall shape of the device intact. Dry ice bombs are most commonly used on their own to simply make a blast.
Dangers
Dry ice bombs have some serious risks:- Premature explosion. Burst pressure can occur within seconds, injuring the handler.
- Dry ice is very cold: –78.5°C (-109.3°F). The explosion can carry shards of dry ice that had not sublimed.
- The shock wave can be extremely loud and hearing damage can occur even at substantial distances.
- The blast can propel fragments of the container at very high speeds causing cuts and puncture wounds.
Dud bombs which fail to explode are a major safety problem. They cannot be left, yet cannot be safely approached. Unexploded bombs can be shot or otherwise ruptured from a safe distance. Injuries are common, with glass bottles in particular posing a risk of serious injury.
Legality
Dry ice bombs are illegal in many jurisdictions, arrests are frequent and can lead to imprisonment.- A law in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
that defines "destructive device" includes a list of "weapons" including "[a]ny sealed device containing dry ice (CO2) or other chemically reactive substances assembled for the purpose of causing an explosion by a chemical reaction." - In Nebraska and in other areas the noise generated may violate local laws.
- Arizona prohibits dry ice bombs if there is an intent to cause injury, death, or damage to the property of another, as well as their possession by "prohibited possessors" such as convicted felons and illegal immigrants.
- Leaving an unexploded dry ice bomb can be construed as public endangermentPublic endangermentPublic endangerment is a criminal act that can be prosecuted in a court. It is usually applied to crimes which place the public in some form of danger, although that danger can be more or less severe according to the crime. It is punished most frequently in Canada....
. - In Utah simple possession of a dry ice bomb and similar pressurized chemical reaction bombs is a second-degree felony. "Thirty to 50 times a year, the Salt Lake bomb squad gets called out for one of these explosives (dry ice bomb). The injuries they've seen are life-changing: everything from blown-off fingers to extreme burns; some have lost their hearing and eyesight."
Popular culture references
- A dry ice bomb featured on MythBustersMythBustersMythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
- episode 57 Mentos and Soda, which was first aired on August 9, 2006. - The book One Day in the Life of a Fool by Jeremy M. Gates includes a story about a dry ice bomb which failed to explode as planned, and later exploded accidentally after someone took it indoors.
- An episode of Discovery channelDiscovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's Time WarpTime Warp (TV series)Time Warp was a popular science-themed television program produced for the Discovery Channel in the United States, in which Jeff Lieberman, an MIT scientist, teacher, and artist, along with high speed camera expert Matt Kearney, turn their high speed camera on everyday occurrences and singular...
features several dry ice bombs filmed on high speed cameraHigh speed cameraA high speed camera is a device used for recording fast moving objects as a photographic image onto a storage media. After recording, the images stored on the media can be played back in slow-motion...
; one on a tabletop and three in a metal tank with a transparent front. The cast believed that once one of the three bombs exploded it would blow up the other two bombs; the first bomb exploded rupturing the tank without exploding the other two 2-liter bottle bombs, and the cast and crew had to run and seek cover. - Episode 5x23 (Iced) of CSI features a toilet bowl blown to smithereens by dry ice, first in a dorm lavatory, then in the laboratory by Greg Sanders.
- In ArcherArcher (TV series)Archer is an American animated television series created by Adam Reed for the FX network. A preview of the series aired on September 17, 2009. The first season premiered on January 14, 2010. The show carries a TV-MA-LSV rating....
, Sterling and Lana practice using dry ice bombs as potential weapons against an ecoterrorist.
See also
- Spud gun
- Diet Coke and Mentos eruption
- Chlorine bombChlorine bombA chlorine bomb is a small-scale explosive device using the pressure of chemically produced chlorine gas to produce an explosion. It is made with an airtight container part-filled with rubbing alcohol or similar solvent...
- Rapid phase transitionRapid phase transitionRapid phase transition or RPT is a phenomenon realized in liquefied natural gas incidents in which LNG vaporizes violently upon coming in contact with water causing what is known as a physical explosionor cold explosion...