Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works dot com where smart Happens. I am Marshall Brain with today's question, how do fog machines work? There are three common ways to produce the fog that you often see in stage productions and at dance clubs. You can use the fog machine that vaporizes fog juice, or you can use dry ice, or you can invite lots of cigarette smokers. Fog machines and fog juice are the most common. The basic mechanism is simple. The fog juice is heated to create smoke.
When you overheat oil on the stove and create a lot of smoke, you're doing the same thing cooking oil has a tendency to get gummy and smell bad. However, fog machines use glycerin or glycol mixed with water as their juice. According to the Seattle Times, the fog is created using propylene glycol and triethyline glycol mixed with water. One thing that's not clear is whether this fog has
any side effects on people's lungs. It seems like it's a problem for asthmatics, but nothing has been proven conclusively for the general population. If you would rather be safe than sorry, you can use dry ice. When you place dry ice and hot water, it creates a dense fog that clings to the floor. This fog contains carbon dioxide and water vapor. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send me an email
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