Mentos and diet coke experiment

In the very early twenty first century, a new word was coined for a video that becomes very popular on the internet. This word was derived from the spread of internet malware, which itself is known to spread in fast succession. The word was "viral". The most popular viral videos of all time are the ones featuring the Diet Coke and Mentos Eruption, commonly referred to as Coke geyser or Mentos eruption. The whole phenomenon was initiated by a science teacher, magician, toy maker and Emmy Award winner Steve Spangler, who presented the phenomenon and taped several videos featuring this effect. YouTube registers almost four hundred different videos about the Coke geyser and over a thousand if you define your search with "Mentos Bomb".

Steve Spangler got credited for the first viral video by the VH1 of the MTV franchise. He has since maintained a website, where videos and the science of this phenomenon is explained and featured. While Spangler still leaves the chemical reaction behind this Soda Geyser open, several other people have explained it, most prominently the crew of MythBusters, who also hold the record for the highest eruption, recorded at nine meters, whereby they did use a nozzle.

It is widely known that if you pour sugar into a glass with Coca-Cola, the liquid is starting to foam, creating beer foam like top for the soft drink. There are several reasons why the diet variant reacts with such vigor; contributing factors are listed by the MythBusters crew as well as a few scientists. Currently there was a paper written by Tonya Coffey, which was published in the American Journal of Physics, among other scientific publications.

They all conclude that artificial sweeteners, aspartame and potassium benzoate in case of Diet Coke, the CO2 gas and the caffeine react to the gelatin and gum arabic ingredients, besides the obvious sugar effect, and together this creates the Coke Geyser; interestingly enough, the caffeine free variant of the Diet Coke reacted almost identically, making the inclusion of caffeine in the equation questionable. Additionally, mint Mentos coating has many tiny little holes, providing for multiple contact points where the reaction is created; the sudden and rapid formation of CO2 bubbles, which are being created in a sizable quantity rush towards the opening and create the geyser effect.

The instructions are given as follows: use a two Liter Diet Coke and four or five mint Mentos for maximum effect. Open the bottle and put it opened somewhere, where it will remain standing when you are not holding it. Drop at once the Mentos into the bottle, do not make it slowly, it diminishes the effect, the four candy bits need to drop in almost simultaneously. Step back and enjoy the show.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/