We get this question a lot. Let’s start with the basics of what they are made of.
Water ice is made up of (you guessed it) water. When it warms, the frozen ice melts leaving a puddle. Dry ice is made up of carbon dioxide (CO2). When it warms, the solid CO2 sublimates into the gaseous form of CO2. Dry ice skips the liquid phase entirely, leaving virtually no mess to clean.
Dry ice maintains a temperature of -109.3°F giving it three times the cooling energy per volume than water ice. What does this mean? Dry ice stays colder and lasts longer than water ice. Water ice will melt much faster and need to frequently be replaced to keep items cool.
You want to take precautions when handling dry ice to reduce any potential risk from using dry ice. But, don’t let that scare you! Minor measures are needed to ensure the safety of any individual handling dry ice. Why is caution necessary
when using dry ice? There are a few reasons for this.
First, dry ice is extremely cold at -109.3°F. This makes it the perfect cooling agent when needed for a long period of time.
Well, dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2) and when it get hot, it turns back from a solid to a gaseous state.
