Dry ice is a term used to describe carbon dioxide that has “frozen” solid. Ice and frozen are terms we normally associate with water but, in physics, matter can be solid, liquid or gaseous depending upon temperature and pressure. We know carbon dioxide as something in the “air” that we breathe out and we are also aware that industry and automobiles generate a lot of it which might be the cause of global warming. But, why would we ever want solid blocks of carbon dioxide? The original answer dates back to the days before we had refrigerators; foodstuffs would still spoil (even in winter) and one way to preserve them was to keep them very cold. Frozen water as ice is at 32⁰ Fahrenheit but, as it warms, it melts into a pool of water. Carbon dioxide (CO2) “ice” is usually at around −109.3 °F and, when it “melts” it turns into invisible gas with no mess. These two factors alone make it a desirable commodity within the food and produce trades.
Solid CO2 was first observed in France in 1894 but it was not until 1924 that Thomas B. Slate applied for a patent in the USA for production and commercialization of a product he called dry ice and, in 1925, the DryIce Corporation of America started marketing solid CO2 for refrigeration purposes.
Who Needs Dry Ice in New York?
Obviously anyone with things that they need to keep cold but, for whatever reason, they cannot put them in a standard refrigerator – a small travelling cart selling ice-cream in the park for example. Although we see water ice nearly every day, there are in fact many daily uses for dry ice: sufficient to keep companies like New York dry ice delivery in business.
The scope of this business goes well beyond the ice-cream carts and even food preservation in general. It can be used to “flash freeze” food and hospitals use dry ice in the transportation of organs and biological samples. In a completely different field, dry ice mixed with some water emits a fog like gas that is the “smoke” effect at many rock concerts and theatrical events. Plumbers even use it to temporarily freeze water inside pipes. Companies like Dry Ice New York produce the dry ice and distribute it for all its many uses. Browse our website to learn more about everything we do at Apple Ice from dry ice to ice warehousing to amazing sculptures.
