Nitrous oxide inside the cells, by a process catalyzed by the enzyme nitrous oxide reductase. Nitrous oxide has significant global warming potential as a greenhouse gas. On a per-molecule basis, considered over a 100-year-period, nitrous oxide has 298 times the atmospheric heat-trapping ability of carbon dioxide (), however, because of its low concentration (less than 1/1000 of that of ), its contribution to the greenhouse effect is less than one-third that of carbon dioxide, and also less than water vapour and methane. On the other hand, since 38% or more of the entering the atmosphere is the result of human activity, and
Nitrous oxide engine Nitrous oxide engine A nitrous oxide engine is an engine which requires oxygen for burning the fuel in order to create power (mainly stems from the decomposition of nitrous oxide (NO) 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 with the fuel mixture. Nitrous injection systems may be "dry", where the nitrous oxide is injected separately from fuel, or "wet" in which additional fuel is carried into the engine along with the nitrous. Nitrous oxide systems may