What will explode with coke

Scientists are interested in the details of how volcanoes erupt, so they analyze temperature, pressure, and the chemistry of magma. Some volcanologists study the way gas bubbles nucleate and expand, using laboratory models to simulate magma processes. Gases are dissolved in magma at pressures many thousands of times atmospheric pressure.

Volcanic gas is dissolved in magma; at the surface of the earth, it escapes to the atmosphere. The sudden release of pressure on a confined gas produces an explosion. Back to top. University of Hawaii at Hilo. Skip to content Geology Department. What causes the explosion when Mentos are dropped into Diet Coke?

Why do Mentos explode in soda? Will Mentos work with any soda? How do you make a Mentos and soda volcano? What happens when you mix Coke Mentos and baking soda? Does the flavor of Mentos affect the explosion? Does Mentos gum explode soda? Can you mix Coke with Mentos? Is Mentos a chewing gum? What is the hypothesis for the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment? Does Coke and vinegar react? Can you drink Coke and baking soda? By Hazel Muir. Scanning electron microscope images show the roughness of mint Mentos top and bottom left and fruit Mentos top and bottom right , the scale bars representing lengths from 20 to micrometres.

The startling reaction between Diet Coke and Mentos sweets, made famous in thousands of YouTube videos, finally has a scientific explanation. Theories abound as to why this happens, with some bloggers speculating that it is an acid-base reaction because Coke is acidic.

Experiments in a edition of the Discovery Channel programme Mythbusters suggested the chemicals responsible for the reaction are gum arabic and gelatine in the sweets, and caffeine, potassium benzoate and aspartame in the Coke. You can try testing different kinds of carbonated beverages, different kinds of candies with different shapes and textures or using other things to start the reaction, like rock salt, pennies or dice.

Which beverages, candies or other things cause the largest and smallest fountains? Why do you think this is? Does temperature affect the eruption height? Observations and results Was the eruption higher when whole Mentos candies were used compared with crushed candies?

Was less Diet Coke left in the bottle after the reaction with the whole candies compared with the crushed ones? In the Diet Coke bottle the Mentos candy provides a rough surface that allows the bonds between the carbon dioxide gas and water to break more easily, helping to create carbon dioxide bubbles.

As the Mentos candy sinks in the bottle, the candy causes the production of more and more carbon dioxide bubbles, and the rising bubbles react with carbon dioxide that is still dissolved in the soda to cause more carbon dioxide to be freed and create even more bubbles, resulting in the eruption. Because Mentos candies are rather dense, they sink rapidly through the liquid, causing a fast, large eruption.

The crushed Mentos candies, however, are not as dense as the whole ones, which causes them to sink more slowly, creating a relatively small cola fountain, which should also leave more liquid in the bottle than the larger eruption with whole Mentos candies did. Cleanup Hose off any part of a building that was splashed with Diet Coke.

If you try this project with regular Coke, the eruption should still happen but its sugary content may make cleaning more difficult.

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