Diet Coke and Mentos: What is really behind this physical reaction?

Coffey, Tonya

doi:10.1119/1.2888546

Cited by 41 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…(3) A subsequent practical session varied from observations directly in the field (on Mt. Ruapehu) to laboratory or hands-on exercises (e.g., construction of volcano models; Diet-Coke© and Mentos© experiment following Coffey 2008). (4) Collaborators (teachers and artists) conducted a further session, which varied according to the workshop.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging Māori indigenous knowledge and western geosciences to reduce social vulnerability in active volcanic regions

Pardo

Wilson²,

Procter

et al. 2015

J Appl. Volcanol.

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A new pedagogical methodology is proposed to reduce the social vulnerability of indigenous communities occupying areas subject to volcanic activity, as a potential interactive approach between those communities, scientists, and scientific institutions. The multidisciplinary methodology aims to increase scientist's understanding of the relationship between native inhabitants and active volcanoes in indigenous territories, and to improve the effective dissemination of information. Also, the proposed methodology offers to the local community the scientific knowledge in an understandable and useful way, in order to maximize people's awareness of their exposure to volcanic activity. The procedure starts with the recognition of the local ancestral comprehension of the volcano and the cultural, ecological, and economical bonds between humans and volcanic processes. Subsequently, the transmission of the indigenous knowledge to the scientific community and the appropriation of geological knowledge by the children and teachers in a specific Māori primary school in New Zealand, allowed: (1) the establishment of a common language, (2) enhanced communication and collaboration between the participants involved in understanding and living with an active volcano, and (3) increased awareness about the relationship between humans and active volcanoes. A permanent application (and site-specific adjustment) of this method, and the use of the resulting teaching tools, could reduce social vulnerability and empower indigenous communities in the development of volcanic risk mitigation strategies by revitalizing and sharing knowledge, rather than imposing one epistemological system onto the other.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging Māori indigenous knowledge and western geosciences to reduce social vulnerability in active volcanic regions

Pardo

Wilson²,

Procter

et al. 2015

J Appl. Volcanol.

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“…Dropping Mentos candies into a freshly opened bottle of Diet Coke (or other carbonated beverage) is a popular experiment among science teachers and the general public [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The wide-spread fascination with this experiment stems from the fact that it produces impressive results and is extremely easy to carry out.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wide-spread fascination with this experiment stems from the fact that it produces impressive results and is extremely easy to carry out. When the candies enter the beverage, they catalyze a sudden degassing of dissolved CO 2 [ 3 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The addition of Mentos candies, however, drastically increases the rate of degassing. The surface of a Mentos candy contains enormous numbers of pits and pockets, each of which can serve as nucleation sites when submerged in a carbonated drink [ 3 , 9 , 10 ]. The maximum number of nucleation sites on a single Mentos can be grossly estimated to be between 5 and 60 million by dividing the surface area of the candy (8 cm 2 [ 9 ]) by the circular area of the nucleation sites, which have an estimated radius of 2–7 μm [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethanol as a Probe for the Mechanism of Bubble Nucleation in the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment

Kuntzleman

2021

Molecules

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The Diet Coke and Mentos experiment involves dropping Mentos candies into carbonated beverages to produce a fountain. This simple experiment has enjoyed popularity with science teachers and the general public. Studies of the physicochemical processes involved in the generation of the fountain have been largely informed by the physics of bubble nucleation. Herein, we probe the effect of ethanol addition on the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment to explore the impact that beverage surface tension and viscosity have on the heights of fountains achieved. Our results indicate that current descriptions of the effects of surface tension and viscosity are not completely understood. We also extend and apply a previously reported, simplified version of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller theory to investigate kinetic and mechanistic aspects of bubble nucleation on the surface of Mentos candies in carbonated beverages. A combination of this new theory and experiment allows for the estimation that the nucleation sites on the Mentos candy that catalyze degassing are 1–3 mm in size, and that between 50,000 and 300,000 of these sites actively nucleate bubbles on a single Mentos candy. While the methods employed are not highly sophisticated, they have potential to stimulate fresh investigations and insights into bubble nucleation in carbonated beverages.

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“…With the introduction of these AFMs, there is now a need for laboratory curricula to train the next generation of scientists. While some laboratory coursework has been developed, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] we are particularly interested in developing AFM laboratories that cover biophysics concepts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophysical measurements of cells, microtubules, and DNA with an atomic force microscope

Devenica

Contee

Cabrejo

et al. 2016

American Journal of Physics

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Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are ubiquitous in research laboratories and have recently been priced for use in teaching laboratories. Here we review several AFM platforms (Dimension 3000 by Digital Instruments, EasyScan2 by Nanosurf, ezAFM by Nanomagnetics, and TKAFM by Thorlabs) and describe various biophysical experiments that could be done in the teaching laboratory using these instruments. In particular, we focus on experiments that image biological materials and quantify biophysical parameters: 1) imaging cells to determine membrane tension, 2) imaging microtubules to determine their persistence length, 3) imaging the random walk of DNA molecules to determine their contour length, and 4) imaging stretched DNA molecules to measure the tensional force.2

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Diet Coke and Mentos: What is really behind this physical reaction?

Cited by 41 publications

References 2 publications

Bridging Māori indigenous knowledge and western geosciences to reduce social vulnerability in active volcanic regions

Bridging Māori indigenous knowledge and western geosciences to reduce social vulnerability in active volcanic regions

Ethanol as a Probe for the Mechanism of Bubble Nucleation in the Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment

Biophysical measurements of cells, microtubules, and DNA with an atomic force microscope

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