Russian scientist does Ice Bucket Challenge with liquid nitrogen

A Russian scientist has upped the ante for the Ice Bucket Challenge — ditching the water and instead pouring liquid nitrogen over his head.

Anton Konovaloz, 34, starts off his video by dipping some leaves into a specialized bucket — causing them to freeze instantly. He crumbles the leaf-sicles into tiny pieces, then faces the ultimate deep-freeze.

“I am putting my faith in the laws of physics, biology and mathematics and I hope nothing will go wrong,” Konovaloz says before dumping the liquid nitrogen over his body, according to Europics.

People may think he’s the craziest person to ever attempt the viral Internet craze, but Konovaloz appears to escape unscathed — admitting that while it was cold, his skin was never frozen solid.

Why not? Evidently it’s something called the Leidenfrost Effect, a phenomenon in which a liquid produces a layer of insulating vapor when it comes into contact with something significantly hotter than the liquid’s boiling point.

Still, don’t try this at home: If you were to keep your hand in liquid nitrogen and it cooled down to below the Leidenfrost point, it could freeze. Badly.

Source: RT