Is this possible? If not, how much can liquid nitrogen really cool from 5000°C?
Asker: Christophe, 17 years old
Answer
Hi Christophe,
How much liquid nitrogen can cool depends on the amount of heat energy there is in the object in question. And of course also how much liquid nitrogen you use. If you have ten liters of liquid nitrogen and you need to cool a molten thumbnail to 5000°C, you’ll be fine. But if you have to cool a liter of liquid metal with a liter of liquid nitrogen, you will not get to the freezing point.
The point here is that temperature and heat are two completely different things. Heat is a form of energy and therefore has conservation laws, temperature does not.
regards,
Ward
Answered by
Dr. ir. Ward Blondé
Physics Bioinformatics
university of Ghent
http://www.ugent.be
.