Solved cryptogram
Solid carbon dioxide does not melt into a puddle. At ordinary pressure it goes straight to gas.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to NIST Chemistry WebBook.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 77 letters over 19 different ones, graded hard.
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What it means
Whether a solid melts or sublimes depends on the pressure. Carbon dioxide needs about five times atmospheric pressure before a liquid phase exists at all, so at sea level the solid at seventy eight degrees below zero simply turns to vapor. That is what makes dry ice useful for shipping: it keeps things cold, disappears when it is done, and leaves nothing behind to mop up. The fog it makes is water from the air, not the gas itself.
The claim comes from NIST Chemistry WebBook.
- SourceNIST Chemistry WebBook
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultyhard
- Length77 letters, 19 of them different
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