How do bubbles get into fizzy drinks

So getting started is the difficult stage. Once it is formed, however, a smaller amount of energy again on a per molecule basis is needed for additional liquid molecules to vaporize and expand the bubble. Because shaking the can introduces lots of small bubbles into the liquid, the dissolved gas can more easily vaporize by joining existing bubbles rather than forming new ones.

By avoiding the difficult step of bubble formation, the gas can escape more quickly from shaken soda, thus resulting in more fizz. Answer originally posted April 23, Sign up for our email newsletter. The gas and the liquid and everything else are made up of tiny bits of stuff called molecules. When the gas dissolves in the liquid, the molecules mix together really well so that the gas gets trapped without there being any bubbles.

The amount of gas you can dissolve into the liquid depends on how much pressure it is under. When the pressure is high, it is like there is a lot of weight pushing the gas into the liquid, so lots of it can dissolve. To make a fizzy drink, carbon dioxide is bubbled through liquid at a pressure that is five times greater than the normal pressure we live at.

We would feel the same amount of pressure if we swam to the bottom of a swimming pool that was 50 metres deep 50 metres is about eight giraffes standing on top of each other. Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation , which gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. This is how so much gas is trapped. A can of fizzy drink has enough gas dissolved in it to blow up a small balloon.

When you open a bottle or can of fizzy drink, the pressure on the liquid suddenly gets smaller. The drink can trap much less carbon dioxide at this pressure, so the extra gas stops being dissolved and forms bubbles. The Open University is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to its secondary activity of credit broking.

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