Skip to content Although the term ‘dry ice’ is generally used for solid CO 2 , it’s much more accurate to call this ‘dry snow’, as, rather than being actual solid blocks, they are effectively snow that’s been compressed really tightly. While not really necessary for most applications of dry ice, it is possible to make blocks of actual CO 2 ice, and thus [Hyperspace Pirate], as someone with a healthy obsession with cold things had to make some of his own . As a first step, you, of course, have to chill down CO 2 in a container, for which Mr. [Pirate] used a Joule-Thomson cryocooler , with a 15% butane, 35% propane, and 50% ethylene gas mixture. Of course, as ethylene is only easy to get if you have a lot of money to spend, you will want to make it yourself from ethanol. This involves boiling and 400°C aluminum oxide to capture the produced ethylene. With the CO 2 pressure chamber cooled in its refrigerated bath, the process didn’t take long.…