Nitrous oxide engine

A nitrous oxide engine is an engine in which the oxygen required for burning the fuel stems from the decomposition of nitrous oxide (N₂O) rather than air. The system increases the internal combustion engine's power output by allowing fuel to be burned at a higher-than-normal rate, because of the higher partial pressure of oxygen injected into the fuel mixture.

Terminology

In the context of racing, nitrous oxide is often termed nitrous or NOS. The term NOS is derived from the initials of the company name Nitrous Oxide Systems, one of the pioneering companies in the development of nitrous oxide injection systems for automotive performance use.

Mechanism

When a mole of nitrous oxide decomposes, it releases half a mole of O₂ molecules (oxygen gas), and one mole of N₂ molecules (nitrogen gas). This decomposition allows an oxygen concentration of 33% to be reached. Nitrogen gas is non-combustible and does not support combustion. Air—which contains only 21% oxygen, the rest being nitrogen and other equally non-combustible and non-combustion-supporting gasses—permits a 12-percent-lower maximum-oxygen level than that of nitrous oxide. This oxygen supports combustion; it alone combines with gasoline, alcohol, or diesel fuel to produce carbon dioxide and water vapor, along with heat, which causes the former two products of combustion to expand and exert pressure on pistons, driving the engine.

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially cattle. Beef can be harvested from bulls, heifers or steers. Its acceptability as a food source varies in different parts of the world.

Beef muscle meat can be cut into roasts, short ribs or steak (filet mignon, sirloin steak, rump steak, rib steak, rib eye steak, hanger steak, etc.). Some cuts are processed (corned beef or beef jerky), and trimmings, usually mixed with meat from older, leaner cattle, are ground, minced or used in sausages. The blood is used in some varieties of blood sausage. Other parts that are eaten include the oxtail, liver, tongue, tripe from the reticulum or rumen, glands (particularly the pancreas and thymus, referred to as sweetbread), the heart, the brain (although forbidden where there is a danger of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE), the kidneys, and the tender testicles of the bull (known in the United States as calf fries, prairie oysters, or Rocky Mountain oysters). Some intestines are cooked and eaten as-is, but are more often cleaned and used as natural sausage casings. The bones are used for making beef stock.

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Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, nitro, or NOS is a chemical compound with the formula N
2O. It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colourless, non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odour and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anaesthetic and analgesic effects. It is known as "laughing gas" due to the euphoric effects of inhaling it, a property that has led to its recreational use as a dissociative anaesthetic. It is also used as an oxidizer in rockets and in motor racing to increase the power output of engines. At elevated temperatures, nitrous oxide is a powerful oxidizer similar to molecular oxygen.

Nitrous oxide gives rise to nitric oxide (NO) on reaction with oxygen atoms, and this NO in turn reacts with ozone. As a result, it is the main naturally occurring regulator of stratospheric ozone. It is also a major greenhouse gas and air pollutant. Considered over a 100-year period, it is calculated to have between 265 and 310 times more impact per unit mass (global-warming potential) than carbon dioxide.