By Evan Ackerman
Dry ice is very cool stuff. It’s got lots of practical applications, most notably keeping food very very cold, since its temperature is nearly -110 degrees Fahrenheit and it doesn’t melt. That’s all well and good, but the only reason I would buy a machine that can make dry ice is for slightly less practical (but way more fun) uses. I’m not just talking about fog and frothing drinks… Dry ice is capable of a lot more, some of which is borderline dangerous. Just search for “dry ice” on YouTube and you’ll get the idea. This particular machine can produce a 1lb block of dry ice in about 60 seconds from a supply of liquid CO2, which you can find all over the place, since paintball guns use liquid CO2 as a power source. It’s not terribly efficient, producing a maximum of only 11 pounds of dry ice from a 50lb liquid CO2 tank, and the machine itself costs $500 from Hammacher Schlemmer, which is a bit steep. If that’s out of your price range but you still want to fool around with dry ice, you can usually get some for cheap at your local ice cream shop.
