Why does dry ice smoke?
user
When dry ice is placed in a warm environment, it begins to melt. The result is a small amount of liquid water mixed in with solid carbon dioxide ice. The melting ice and carbon dioxide releases heat, and the water can actually boil. This heat source makes the ice and carbon dioxide particles in the mixture bubble and vaporize, which in turn produces a fog of white smoke.
assistant
Why does dry ice smoke?
user
Dry ice is actually carbon dioxide ice, also known as frozen carbon dioxide.  It’s frozen solid carbon dioxide, so it should really be called frozen carbon dioxide.  It’s also known as solid CO2.

It is super cold (around -109 °C), so it feels kind of like a block of ice, but it’s really dry carbon dioxide ice.  It’s so cold, and also so solid, that the carbon dioxide in the ice actually starts to vaporize.  This vapor forms a cold, dense smoke.  The vapor actually kind of looks like smoke in the way that it’s a white foggy vapor that’s sort of misty and thick.

The reason that the carbon dioxide ice and vapor smoke is so unique, is because the ice is so cold and solid, but the carbon dioxide is actually bubbling out of the ice as a gas.  So it’s very dense, cold, solid ice, and it’s also kind of smoldering and bubbling.  This isn’t normal ice that you might put in a cooler, or on a ice tray, where it slowly melts and becomes liquid water, it’s actually a really dense solid block
assistant
Why does dry ice smoke?