Why do duster cans get cold

The advantage of the chrome sprayer is more precise control over spray force and ESD electrostatic discharge control. The standard plastic sprayer has the potential to build up a static charge as you spray. The chrome trigger is conductive, so it will not build up a charge, and it has the potential to be grounded.

Shop air — In an industrial setting, dropping an airline is very common. In this case, a compressor constantly keeps the line pressurized with air.

It can be an economical way to blow off dust, dirt, and other contaminants, but the downside is that you are tethered by the airline. This extension becomes impractical during field work or in-house work that requires more flexibility.

In addition, contamination can be brought through the airline from either ambient air or oil from the compressor. Mechanical dusters — Plug-in or battery-operated dusters are available. They can offer savings compared to aerosol dusters, which must be replaced after each can is spent. Bulb dusters — Photographers will be familiar with the bulb-type blowers that are often used for lens cleaning. These may be an economical solution for very light dust, but the force generated is a small fraction of that generated by aerosol dusters.

Related products. Economy Duster. Related Categories. Aerosol Duster. All rights reserved. Sign up for our email list! You did not finish submitting your information to request a sample. This change is known as adiabatic expansion. This expansion from liquid to gas requires a change in energy. The particles in a liquid are closer together and slower moving than the particles in gas form, and more energy is needed as the transition from liquid to gas takes place. The energy needed for the transition to gas is felt as heat.

To raise the temperature of the liquid enough to become gas, this heat is drawn from the surrounding air, a phenomenon called the Joule-Thomson effect.

As the heat is drawn into the expanding gas, the surrounding air drops in temperature, which you experience as cooling. Brian Westover is a freelance writer, editor and publication designer.

The reason the can gets cold after being used is due to a process known as adiabatic cooling, a property of thermodynamics. A gas, initially at high pressure, cools significantly when that pressure is released. The compression needed to turn a gas to liquid allows a large amount of gas to fit in a relatively small space, and when that gas is released to a large space, it rapidly expands to fill the space. The evaporation of the liquid inside the can results in a drop in its internal heat energy, and it absorbs a large amount of heat from the surrounding air and environment -- in this case, the metal can.

When the liquid inside absorbs the heat from the can's metal body, the can cools down rapidly. As the expanding gas leaves the can, it also absorbs heat energy from the nozzle and straw, and anything else the gas comes into contact with. For example, if you spray a keyboard, you'll see a thin white layer of frost form on the keys briefly. With prolonged use of the canned air, you might notice that the force of the air stream weakens over time, and the can becomes too cold to comfortably hold in your hand.

The heat energy from the can has all gone into evaporating the liquid inside; when the can itself becomes cold, not enough heat remains to vaporize more liquid. To remedy the "out of breath" condition, set the can down and let it warm for a few minutes. This restores the strength of the air bursts. The can carries a warning label telling you to avoid spraying onto your skin; the rapid absorption of heat can easily cause frostbite.