In case you ever wondered what might happen if you put liquid nitrogen inside a balloon, YouTube user Grant Thompson, aka "The King of Random," has an answer for you.
Thompson debated what might happen before diving into his experiment, guessing that a balloon filled with liquid nitrogen, which is really, really cold - about 195 degrees Fahrenheit - would either cause the balloon to freeze, crack and then spill liquid nitrogen everywhere or that it might just cause the balloon to expand, which would make the balloon explode.
The result was more like the latter, but a lot more interesting. To start, Thompson fills a vacuum flask with liquid nitrogen first. The container is so well-insulated that it doesn't even get cold (someone get the brand name on that thing). Then he blows air into the balloon, just enough that it's easy to put on top of the flask. He then slowly pours the liquid into the balloon and waits to see what happens.
Don't try this at home, kids: playing with liquid nitrogen can get dangerous. And whatever you do, don't try to drink it!
So what really happens is that the balloon expands because once the liquid nitrogen is inside the balloon, it becomes a gas because of the exposure to warmer temperatures. The balloon eventually expands so much that it explodes, leaving behind little bits of purple plastic pieces and pools of bubbling nitrogen.
Next up? Thompson hopes to try the same experiment with one of those huge water balloons.
