cars weren’t the first motor devices to get nos … funny that aye π±
#tdil that nitrous oxide (nos) was originally used in planes! βοΈ
we actually have the aircraft engineers of world war two to thank for nos π you see, it was the rapid rate of aircraft development (as we all kept trying to beat our enemies) that led to its necessity.
basically, as aircraft technology developed, so did the performance of the planes themselves π© fighters got faster and faster … meaning that bombers had to fly higher and higher.
as they flew higher, the thinner air made it harder for fighters to improve π this is because the less dense air contains less oxygen for the engine to burn fuel with π
that’s where turbos and superchargers came in π known as methods of ‘forced induction’, they both increase the pressure and density of the air that’s fed into the engine ππ» … hey presto, increased high altitude performance!
this was all good for the fighters on our side ππ» but the axis fighters lacked the nickel required to create high numbers of reliable turbos π€·π»ββοΈ
no bother, a clever professor called otto lutz figured out that his work with oxidisers in jet engines could also work with propellor planes π … he later found that nitrous oxide was the best of the bunch π
you may find yourself asking “how do oxidisers work?” π€ well, they’re basically chemicals that release oxygen as they decompose. basically, it adds extra oxygen to the combustion chamber ππ»
nitrous oxide was decided to be the best because it could introduce oxygen to the combustion chamber slowly and progressively.
sadly, nos was slowly written off as something in the world of planes because it required the aircraft to carry extra weight, in the form of nitrous oxide tanks π
of course, it didn’t take all that long for a bright spark to start putting it in their car π starting in the world of hot rods and drag racing, it was adopted as a way to get an advantage on the strip π
i’ll be honest, this was a lot longer than planned π but at least you now have a comprehensive knowledge of nitrous oxide π
bye! π #tdil
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fun times! π still hankering for more? take a gander ->here<-