Why Does Compressed Air Cold

Long ago i was a pc tech at a slightly fly by night mom pop joint.

Why does compressed air cold. Updated april 24 2017. If we take a look at our earth s surface and its atmosphere we can interpret it as a sea of air. I m not even sure if the liquid is electrically conductive but it boils off in seconds anyway. A given volume of gas has a certain amount of energy.

Why does the compressed air can get so cold when you use it. If you compress it into a smaller space the energy also becomes more dense so the temperature has to rise at least temporarily. Changing from a liquid phase to a gas phase requires energy. If you ve ever used a can of compressed air to blow dust out of your keyboard you ve experienced how quickly the can gets cold.

Most techs were stuck in a back building connected by a ma. The higher you are in this ocean the lower the pressure would be. Why does canned air get cold. Skip navigation sign in.

This frost all over the cylinder sort of cold is thermodynamics in action. If this is true why use compressed air. Why does the compressed air can get so cold when you use it. Because these gases are compressed to liquid form when you turn the can upside down and press the nozzle liquid will come out before it turns to gas.

Even a short blast is enough for frost to accumulate. Co2 cartridges are highly compressed cylinders of liquid carbon dioxide. I will take a stab at putting that in simple terms. The lower you are closer to sea level the higher the pressure because there will be more air pressing down on you.