On a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel (see original clip above) I used a soda bottle to demonstrate a build up of gas pressure. Typical soda bottles are under about 40-60 PSI (pounds per square inch) of pressure when they are bottled. But they are designed to withstand much more pressure – usually around 150 PSI! We decided to put the bottle to the test using liquid nitrogen.

While impressive, this demonstration will show you why you should NEVER EVER use a soda bottle for any kind of experiment involving gases under pressure. The blast is intense, damaging, and loud. We utilized several safety staff, many safety tests, and a box custom built of Lexan (virtually unbreakable) plastic. It is the same material that bulletproof windows are made from.

Because the blast happens so fast, the production brought in a high-speed camera (the Sony NEX-FS700) to shoot the demo at 700FPS.

Since the high-speed clip is brief in the YouTube show clip, here is the extended version. The flickering light is created by the camera picking up the on/off cycle of the LED lights which are usually invisible to the human eye. Enjoy.

  Extended High-Speed Footage