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Nitrous oxide is a chemical compound commonly known as laughing gas, which has been used in medicine and dentistry for pain relief and anesthesia. It also has industrial applications and is a greenhouse gas that contributes to environmental concerns.
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Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas or nitrous, among others, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula N 2O. At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a slightly sweet scent and taste. At elevated temperatures, nitrous oxide is a powerful oxidiser similar to molecular oxygen.
Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain-reducing effects, and it is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Its colloquial name, "laughing gas", coined by Humphry Davy, describes the euphoric effects upon inhaling it, which cause it to be used as a recreational drug inducing a brief "high". When abused chronically, it may cause neurological damage through inactivation of vitamin B12. It is also used as an oxidiser in rocket propellants and motor racing fuels, and as a frothing gas for whipped cream.