Mentos and Soft Drink Reaction
First demonstrated by chemistry teacher Lee Marek on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1999, and later popularized in a June 2006 viral Internet video by Eepybird, a Mentos mint expedites a rapid release of carbon dioxide when dropped into a carbonated liquid, such as a soft drink. A variety of factors, contributed by both the candies and the soda, contribute to the dramatic effect.
When the candies come into contact with the liquid, a reaction causes the formation of foam at a rapid rate. A 2006 episode of the television show Mythbusters concluded that the potassium benzoate, aspartame, and CO2 gas contained in the Diet Coke, in combination with the gelatin and gum arabic ingredients of the Mentos, all contribute to formation of the foam. However, the structure of the Mentos is the most significant cause of the eruption due to nucleation. The surface of the candy is a highly pitted surface that offers a large, concentrated number of nucleation sites for CO2 bubbles to form (nucleate). Mythbusters reported that when flavored Mentos with a smooth waxy coating were tested in carbonated drink there was hardly a reaction, whereas standard Mentos added to carbonated drink formed an energetic eruption, affirming the nucleation-site theory.
The resulting geyser (popularly known as a "Diet Coke and Mentos eruption") can shoot as high as 6 meters (20 ft). The unofficial record, reached in MythBusters, was over 34 feet with the use of a nozzle.
A Guinness World Record of 2,865 simultaneous geysers was set on October 17, 2010, in an event organized by Perfetti Van Melle (Philippines) at the SM Mall of Asia Complex, in Manila, Philippines.
In November, 2006, the Urban Legends Reference Pages examined the rumors of people dying from eating Mentos and drinking cola. Their research found that while eating Mentos and drinking cola can result in people regurgitating the foamy result, no actual news accounts exist of anyone dying from it. MythBusters also tested this hypothesis using sheep parts and found that the act of drinking the cola releases enough of the carbonation to prevent the violent reaction caused when the Mentos is added to the cola directly.
Read more about this topic: Mentos
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