Dry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" (chiefly British English), 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 (other than incidental frost from moisture in the atmosphere). It is useful for preserving frozen foods, ice cream, etc., where mechanical cooling is unavailable.
Dry ice sublimates at −78.5 °C (−109.3 °F) at atmospheric pressure. This extreme cold makes the solid dangerous to handle without protection due to burns caused by freezing (frostbite). While generally not very toxic, the outgassing from it can cause hypercapnia due to buildup in confined locations.
Read more about Dry Ice: Properties, History, Manufacture, Safety, Occurrence On Mars
Famous quotes containing the words dry and/or ice:
“The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran....”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Suddenly I saw the cold and rook-delighting heaven
That seemed as though ice burned and was but the more ice,”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)