Caffeine Free Coke Effect Essay

For a long time, people have been dropping different items into soda, watching it froth up and fizz. They were entertained by the reaction, but some were more interested in how it occured. In 1999, David Letterman, of the Late Show, featured kid scientists on his show as they showed this experiment to his audience. Since then, people have been curious about the science behind this experiment. In 2006, this experiment was featured on an episode of Mythbusters. They discussed the chemicals involved, but no meticulous studies have been made until recently. Placing Mentos in Diet Coke causes a mind-boggling reaction. When first studying this reaction, scientists thought it was chemical. This seemed to start a debate between whether it was physical or chemical. They then found out that it is a physical reaction. The explaination behind this discovery is nucleation. Nucleation is the process that occurs during the development of crystals from a mixture, fluid, or a vapor. “...in which a small number of ions, atoms, or molecules become arranged in a pattern characteristic of a crystalline solid, forming a site upon which additional particles are deposited as the crystal grows” (The …show more content…
Some experimented with different sodas and candies. Caffeine was thought to be a factor in the reaction, but after trying caffeine free coke, the reaction was the same. Tonya Coffey, of American Journal of Physics, experimented with different carbonated beverages, such as tonic water, seltzer water, and different typeds of coke. For the additives, she tried fruit Mentos, mint Mentos, mint Lifesavers, table salt, rock salt, and more. It was found that Diet Coke and Fruit Mentos have the best reaction. Temperature also affected her experiments. She kept them at room temperature, cooled them, and heated up the sodas. Tonya found that heating up the soda increased the reaction, as did amount of aspartame, and acidity of both