So wrote poet Robert Southey of nitrous oxide, N2O, also known as nitrogen oxide, dinitrogen monoxide, hyponitrous acid anhydride and facticious air. However, its most well known name is 'laughing gas' or 'happy gas' due to its intoxicating effects when inhaled. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a pleasant, slightly sweet odor and taste. N2O was first discovered in by the English scientist and clergyman Joseph Priestley who was also famous for being the first to isolate other important gases such as oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and sulfur dioxide. Priestley made N2O by heating ammonium nitrate in the presence of iron filings, and then passing the gas that came off NO through water to remove toxic by-products.

U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis



Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS) NOS NOS OEM Fuel Injection Plates | Summit Racing
Supply Line;. A single stainless steel, 32 hole, spray bar delivers nitrous to the engine. The use of nitrous oxide as a performance enhancement has been used since World War II. Allied aircraft used it for emergency boosts in airspeed and altitude capabilities. By the end of WW II, jet propulsion had been invented and the US government was losing interest in piston-powered aircraft. For nearly thirty years, the application of nitrous oxide on vehicles would be privileged information. Racers dabbled with nitrous oxide injection from time to time with varied results.


NOS 12567NOS Big Shot Injector Plate
Nitrous, or Nitrous Oxide is a power adder that provides incredible "Bang for the Buck" but for a number of reasons that we'll explore today, almost never gets used, and that's a shame because there's really no better way to get a reasonable boost in power for peanuts. Nitrous has a bad reputation for blowing up engines and is often even called "cheating. All of these rumors have some basis in fact but as with almost anything, when used correctly, the benefits of nitrous are HUGE, especially for the target audience of this site: daily driven performance enthusiasts.




You release the oxygen in sodium chlorate by heating it. So the injection of nitrous oxide into an engine means that more oxygen is available during combustion. Because you have more oxygen, you can also inject more fuel, allowing the same engine to produce more power. Nitrous oxide is one of the simplest ways to provide a significant horsepower boost to any gasoline engine. When it vaporizes, nitrous oxide provides a significant cooling effect on the intake air.