ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Birkeland–Eyde process

Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of something called fertilizer? It's what people use to help plants grow bigger and stronger. But did you ever wonder where fertilizer comes from?

Well, a long time ago some really smart people figured out a way to make fertilizer by using something called the Birkeland-Eyde process. It's named after two guys named Kristian Birkeland and Sam Eyde who came up with the idea.

Basically, what they do is they take something called nitrogen from the air and turn it into a chemical called ammonia, which is used in fertilizer. But how do they do it?

First, they take really hot and bright electric sparks, called arcs, and send them through the air. This creates a chemical reaction that makes something called nitrogen oxide.

Next, they take this nitrogen oxide and mix it with water and some other chemicals. This mixture is then heated up really hot and put under a lot of pressure.

Finally, the mixture is cooled down and the ammonia is separated from everything else. And then voila! You have ammonia which can be used in fertilizer for plants to grow bigger and stronger.

So now you know, the Birkeland-Eyde process is a way to make fertilizer by turning nitrogen from the air into ammonia using hot electric sparks and a lot of chemicals.