Cola, soda or soda… No matter what type, all sodas don’t stay as they first came out of their cans. Let’s say you’re drinking a Coke in a can. You know that first “hiss” sound when you open the box and then the sizzling sound that tickles your heart, right? Have you ever thought about why those sounds stop after a while?
That sound that we encounter very often in our daily lives, but that we don’t usually hang around with, is actually the result of a magical chemical process. These bubbles in sodas are caused by carbonation. Let’s take a closer look at what this carbonation is, why bubbles do not appear forever.
Why do bubbles form in carbonated drinks?
These bubbles are formed as a result of the chemical reaction of the substances in the beverage you drink. At this point, the carbon dioxide added to the carbonated beverage is added to water or an aqueous solution by pressure. This pressure is possible by mixing carbon dioxide from gas to liquid form and mixing it with the mother liquid.
Dissolution must be prevented until the moment of drinking.
For this, manufacturers; It increases the pressure inside the can, glass or plastic bottle and keeps these products at a low temperature. When these conditions are met, water molecules hold too many carbon dioxide molecules. Some of the carbon dioxide dissolves in water in airtight boxes.
The remainder is in the gaseous state between the top of the bottle or can and the liquid. The “hiss” sound that comes out when we first open a fizzy drink is also caused by the sudden escaping of this gas into the atmosphere.
So why do these bubbles escape? What would happen if we drank even if they didn’t run?
Carbon dioxide is about 1.5 times heavier than the air we breathe. From this point of view, this gas should not escape. But carbonated drinks are supersaturated with carbon dioxide. For this reason, we see that carbon dioxide tries to escape from the coke.
This escape occurs with bubbles starting from the inside of the coke and rising upwards. When the bubbles rise to the top, they burst, creating a sizzling sound. The amount of carbon dioxide in the can is determined by the manufacturer, and of course, at some point it will run out or decrease. The reason why the acid in cola or sodas escapes is actually due to the lack of carbon dioxide.
When carbonated drinks are shaken, they help carbon dioxide escape faster.
When you shake a soda, you mix the air in the empty part of the can with the rest of the liquid. This causes more chemical reactions. In this situation, which creates a jam in the box, the pressure of the box rises even more. If it does not explode, some of the carbon dioxide may dissolve back into the liquid after a while.
The reason why the can foams uncontrollably when opened immediately after shaking is due to the fact that the carbon dioxide in the liquid tries to escape very quickly.
- Sources: Let’s Talk Science, Live Science, Scientific American
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