Releasing any gas in a confined or unventilated area can lower the concentration of oxygen to a level that is immediately dangerous to life or health (see the first link under Further Reading below). The primary health dangers of carbon dioxide are: It also explains the burning/stinging sensation in your nose and eyes when you inhale too quickly from a freshly-opened container of soda pop the gas quickly reacts with the water in your eyes and nose to form a small amount of carbonic acid. This chemical behavior explains why water, which normally has a neutral pH of 7 has an acidic pH of approximately 5.5 when it has been exposed to air. The discharge from a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher is white partly due to condensed water vapor and partly due to solid CO 2 'snow' which quickly sublimes into invisible carbon dioxide gas.Ĭarbon dioxide dissolves slightly in water to form a weak acid called carbonic acid, H 2CO 3:Ĭarbonic acid reacts slightly and reversibly in water to form a hydronium cation, H 3O +, and the bicarbonate ion, HCO 3 -: The white mist that one sees around solid carbon dioxide is actually water vapor that has condensed from the air. Dry Ice has been used in theatrical productions to make stage fogs (although some modern fog machines now use glycol or glycerin-based solutions instead) and to make 'magic potions' bubble as demonstrated on the right.Ī common misconception is that carbon dioxide is a visible gas.

It also finds use in a technology called supercritical fluid extraction that is used to decaffeinate coffee.

The most familiar example is its use to carbonate soft drinks and beer. Animals exhale carbon dioxide and plants use photosynthesis to convert it to sugars and other forms of energy.Ĭommercially, carbon dioxide has thousands of uses. Additional InfoĬarbon dioxide is the fourth most-abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere. Note: Although both are common products of combustion, DO NOT confuse non- toxic carbon dioxide with deadly poisonous carbon monoxide. The linear molecule consists of a carbon atom that is doubly bonded to two oxygen atoms, O=C=O. Solid carbon dioxide, also known by the trade name Dry Ice, sublimes (converts directly from a solid to a gas) at -78 oC (-109 0F) or above.Ĭarbon dioxide is a molecular solid with a molecular formula CO 2. Get your CO 2 extinguishers at Safety Emporium DefinitionĬarbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless, faintly acidic-tasting, and non- flammable gas at room temperature.

Carbon dioxide formula