Nitrous oxide is a chemical compound,an oxide of nitrogen with the formula N2O.At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly metallic scent and taste. At elevated temperatures,nitrous oxide is a powwerful oxidizer similar to molecular oxygen.
Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain reducing effects. its name "laughing gas" is due to the euric effects upon inhaling it, a property that has led to its recreational use as a dissociative anaethetic.