Liquid nitrogen

Liquid nitrogen evaporating at room temperature

We had an interesting experience in our chemistry lab this week.  Someone was experimenting with liquid nitrogen, they were trying to pour it into a plastic soap bottle and then close it. The bottle ended up exploding after a few seconds of being closed. The reason is because nitrogen boils very fast (at normal pressure, its boiling point is 77K). When the liquid nitrogen was removed from its cold placed and released to room temperature, it started to evaporate very quickly. Because it boils easily and quickly, this phase change releases a lot of energy, thus when this reaction took place in the closed container, the energy and pressure build up caused the bottle to explode.