Nitrous oxide boosts engine power in two significant ways. Find out exactly how nitrous works its magic in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode Transcript
Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com,
where smart happens Him Marshall Brain with today's question, how
does nitrous oxide help an engine perform better? It turns
out that nitrous oxide is a great source of oxygen.
(00:23):
When you heat nitrous oxide to about five seventy degrees fahrenheit,
it splits into oxygen and nitrogen. So the injection of
nitrous oxide into an engine means that more oxygen is
available during combustion. Because you have more oxygen, you can
also inject more fuel, allowing the same engine to produce
more power. Nitrous Oxide is one of the simplest ways
(00:46):
to provide a significant horsepower boost to any gasoline engine.
Nitrous oxide has another effect that improves performance even more.
When it vaporizes, nitrous oxide provides a significant cooling effect
on the intake air. When you reduce the intake air temperature,
you increase the air's density, and this provides even more
(01:07):
oxygen inside the cylinder. The only problem with nitrous oxide
is that it's fairly bulky and the engine needs a
lot of it. Like any gas, it takes up a
fair amount of space even when compressed into a liquid.
A five liter engine running at four thousand rotations per
minute consumes about ten thousand liters of air every minute,
(01:29):
compared to about point two liters of gasoline, so it
would take a tremendous amount of nitrous oxide to run
a car continuously. Therefore, a car normally carries only a
few minutes of nitrous oxide, and the driver uses it
very selectively by pushing a button. Be sure to check
out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join
(01:52):
how Stuff Work staff as we explore them as promising
and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The house Stuff Works. I
find app has a Ride. Download it today on iTunes,
m
BrainStuff News
Host
Lauren Vogelbaum
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
What Are We Even Doing? with Kyle MacLachlan
Join award-winning actor and social media madman Kyle MacLachlan on “What Are We Even Doing,” where he sits down with Millennial and Gen Z actors, musicians, artists, and content creators to share stories about the entertainment industry past, present, and future. Kyle and his guests will talk shop, compare notes on life, and generally be weird together. In a good way. Their conversations will resonate with listeners of any age whose interests lie in television & film, music, art, or pop culture.