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
Chemical ionization reactions for charge-exchange chemical ionization are as follows. Chemical ionization in an atmospheric pressure electric discharge is called atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), which usually uses water as the reagent gas. An APCI source is composed of a Liquid Chromatography outlet, nebulizing the eluent, a heated vaporizer tube, a corona discharge needle and a pinhole entrance to 10 torr vacuum. The analyte is a gas or liquid spray and ionization is accomplished using an atmospheric pressure corona discharge. This ionization method is often coupled with high performance liquid chromatography where the mobile phase containing eluting analyte sprayed with high flow