What Is Nitrous?
N2O, or Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a weak anaesthetic (painkilling) gas that was first synthesised in 1775 by Joseph Priestley. Of the three early anaesthetics discovered (chloroform, ether and nitrous oxide) it is the only one still in regular use. While insufficiently strong for surgery, it was ideal for the lesser pain of dentistry. Unfortunately, it became popular as a scientific demonstration for public edification (and entertainment). The public entertainment aspect reduced its respectability and although it was first used in dentistry in 1844, it was not until the 1860s that it became more commonly used. Many famous people are recorded as having tried nitrous oxide.
