Nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or nitrous, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, with a slight metallic scent and taste. At elevated temperatures, nitrous oxide is a powerful oxidizer similar to molecular oxygen. It is soluble in water. Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain reducing effects. Its name "laughing gas", coined by Humphry Davy, is due to the euphoric effects upon inhaling it, a property that has led to its recreational
Chromium(IV) oxide of both the chromium dioxide pigment and chrome tapes, basing its VHS & S-VHS video tape, audio cassettes, and 3480 data cartridges on this formulation. Dupont and BASF had also introduced chrome-cobalt "blended" oxide pigments which combined about 70% cobalt-modified iron oxide with 30% chrome oxide into a single coating, presumably to offer improved performance at lower costs than pure chrome. Many high grade VHS tapes also used much smaller amounts of chrome in their formulations because its magnetic properties combined with its cleaning effects on heads made it a better choice than aluminium oxide or other non-magnetic materials added