If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨
Options
Xenon
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm doing a project on xenon gas with a friend (robinhoody) from another board. I thought it might be an interesting read for some of you. It's not finalized, so if you see things that need clarification or expansion, tell me. I'd love the input!
Xenon is a gas typically used in "neon lighting." When excited by electrical discharge, xenon emits a blue glow. Now here's the twist. It is now used in luxury car headlights as it is brighter and more directable than a normal halogen bulb. Neon lights may be the source for an anesthetic gas that closely resembles nitrous oxide, with some major differences.
As an anesthetic, Xenon is said to be an almost ideal agent. Xenon is a colorless, odorless gas that causes no irritation to the user. It is non-toxic, and has proven to be hypoallergenic. By having low blood-gas coefficients, which is the gaseous equivalent of solubility, the effects of xenon are rather rapid. It can produce unconsciousness, analgesia (pain-kill), and muscle relaxation. It does not cause any profound respiratory depression, and is cardiac stable. "Xenon anesthesia produces the highest regional blood flow in the brain, liver, kidney and intestine" (http://www.general-anaesthesia.com/xenon-anaesthetic.html) This means that the heart and brain are not put under any excessive strain. Since it is a nobel gas, and in being so does not react with anything else*, it is not metabolized in the body. This means that it is not changed when used and can be re-used. The xenon one inhales is the same thing the xenon one exhales. It is easy to store since it is stable and nonflammable. The only problem with xenon is it's price. It is very expensive and can only be used efficiently through a recycling system.
Recreationally, xenon has a lot of potential. It is said to be one and a half times more potent as an anesthetic than nitrous oxide. (Critical Care Medical Journal) Trip reports speak of vocal distortion, head rushes, and similar actions to Nitrous Oxide. Recreational use has not been pioneered yet, despite xenon's potential as a recreational drug. This is probably due to it's high cost and rarity.
Dosing xenon accurately is another tricky part. A trip report on Lycaeum stated that the user took a 50:50 mix of xenon:oxygen, and anesthetic sites state that a mixture of 70:30 produces full analgesia with amnesiatic effects. So going on a 50:50 mix would be wise for calculating doses. The average lung capacity is 5L, so a dose of xenon, using the 50:50 dose, would be about 2.5L. While these dosage ratios are very important for long term exposure, xenon gas may be treated as nitrous oxide. A balloon full of xenon will more than cover it. Just make sure to also take a break every few minutes, oxygen deprivation is not a good thing. Since it is not metabolized, the user can exhale back into the balloon and reuse it.
While xenon is available online or through mail order from industrial gas suppliers, it is very cost prohibitive. The smallest quantity available is a 25L tank for $485.00. Larger, industrial sized tanks can bring the cost down to around $10/L, which is roughly half the price for lower quantities.
Since xenon is an inert gas, when exhaled it is unchanged. A recycler system can be made with a few cheap items. The body only metabolizes 4-5% of the oxygen breathed. So you will exhale oxygen, carbon dioxide, and xenon (assuming you are using pure oxygen and xenon). Carbon dioxide is easily filtered out using a CO2 scrubber. The basic principle of a CO2 scrubber is that CO2, when mixed with water, forms carbonic acid, which can be neutralized by exposing it to a strong basic agent, like NaOH (lye) or KOH (caustic potash) and hydrated lime. Oxygen is easily absorbed using an oxygen absorber, typically found in food packages. Just remember, if they are exposed to the open air, they will only last around 20 minutes because they are absorbing all the oxygen in the air.
Xenon may also actually possess a medicinal value. It has been shown to have neuroprotectant qualities. This means that Xenon can help block out any harmful chemicals that can damage nerve cells. Xenon may help reduce "... ischemia-induced brain damage..." (http://www.ionchannels.org/showabstract.php?pmid=14526227) Ischemia induced brain damage is damage that occurs because of restricted blood flow. (Meth)amphetamine are vasoconstrictors, thus blocking blood flow. The connection is made that Xenon may help with (meth)amphetamine toxicity. Xenon has, "beneficial effects on ischemia-induced neuronal death and amphetamine-induced sensitization." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16179534). Since the Xenon can reduce damage caused by lack of blood flow, any vasoconstrictors neurotoxicity could be partly reduced by using xenon. Damage done by cocaine, MDMA, amphetamine, and methamphetamine may all be much more controllable through the use of xenon.
Xenon is a gas typically used in "neon lighting." When excited by electrical discharge, xenon emits a blue glow. Now here's the twist. It is now used in luxury car headlights as it is brighter and more directable than a normal halogen bulb. Neon lights may be the source for an anesthetic gas that closely resembles nitrous oxide, with some major differences.
As an anesthetic, Xenon is said to be an almost ideal agent. Xenon is a colorless, odorless gas that causes no irritation to the user. It is non-toxic, and has proven to be hypoallergenic. By having low blood-gas coefficients, which is the gaseous equivalent of solubility, the effects of xenon are rather rapid. It can produce unconsciousness, analgesia (pain-kill), and muscle relaxation. It does not cause any profound respiratory depression, and is cardiac stable. "Xenon anesthesia produces the highest regional blood flow in the brain, liver, kidney and intestine" (http://www.general-anaesthesia.com/xenon-anaesthetic.html) This means that the heart and brain are not put under any excessive strain. Since it is a nobel gas, and in being so does not react with anything else*, it is not metabolized in the body. This means that it is not changed when used and can be re-used. The xenon one inhales is the same thing the xenon one exhales. It is easy to store since it is stable and nonflammable. The only problem with xenon is it's price. It is very expensive and can only be used efficiently through a recycling system.
Recreationally, xenon has a lot of potential. It is said to be one and a half times more potent as an anesthetic than nitrous oxide. (Critical Care Medical Journal) Trip reports speak of vocal distortion, head rushes, and similar actions to Nitrous Oxide. Recreational use has not been pioneered yet, despite xenon's potential as a recreational drug. This is probably due to it's high cost and rarity.
Dosing xenon accurately is another tricky part. A trip report on Lycaeum stated that the user took a 50:50 mix of xenon:oxygen, and anesthetic sites state that a mixture of 70:30 produces full analgesia with amnesiatic effects. So going on a 50:50 mix would be wise for calculating doses. The average lung capacity is 5L, so a dose of xenon, using the 50:50 dose, would be about 2.5L. While these dosage ratios are very important for long term exposure, xenon gas may be treated as nitrous oxide. A balloon full of xenon will more than cover it. Just make sure to also take a break every few minutes, oxygen deprivation is not a good thing. Since it is not metabolized, the user can exhale back into the balloon and reuse it.
While xenon is available online or through mail order from industrial gas suppliers, it is very cost prohibitive. The smallest quantity available is a 25L tank for $485.00. Larger, industrial sized tanks can bring the cost down to around $10/L, which is roughly half the price for lower quantities.
Since xenon is an inert gas, when exhaled it is unchanged. A recycler system can be made with a few cheap items. The body only metabolizes 4-5% of the oxygen breathed. So you will exhale oxygen, carbon dioxide, and xenon (assuming you are using pure oxygen and xenon). Carbon dioxide is easily filtered out using a CO2 scrubber. The basic principle of a CO2 scrubber is that CO2, when mixed with water, forms carbonic acid, which can be neutralized by exposing it to a strong basic agent, like NaOH (lye) or KOH (caustic potash) and hydrated lime. Oxygen is easily absorbed using an oxygen absorber, typically found in food packages. Just remember, if they are exposed to the open air, they will only last around 20 minutes because they are absorbing all the oxygen in the air.
Xenon may also actually possess a medicinal value. It has been shown to have neuroprotectant qualities. This means that Xenon can help block out any harmful chemicals that can damage nerve cells. Xenon may help reduce "... ischemia-induced brain damage..." (http://www.ionchannels.org/showabstract.php?pmid=14526227) Ischemia induced brain damage is damage that occurs because of restricted blood flow. (Meth)amphetamine are vasoconstrictors, thus blocking blood flow. The connection is made that Xenon may help with (meth)amphetamine toxicity. Xenon has, "beneficial effects on ischemia-induced neuronal death and amphetamine-induced sensitization." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16179534). Since the Xenon can reduce damage caused by lack of blood flow, any vasoconstrictors neurotoxicity could be partly reduced by using xenon. Damage done by cocaine, MDMA, amphetamine, and methamphetamine may all be much more controllable through the use of xenon.
0