Mentos + Soda = Explosion
Status: True
Given the urban legend about kids eating pop rocks and soda, and then having their stomachs explode, I wouldn't have believed that mixing Mentos and soda could cause such a violent reaction. But after watching the video posted on WLTX's website, I do. (You need Windows Media Player to view it, and I had to click the "Trouble Viewing" button to make it work.) To summarize what the video shows, three Mentos are dropped into a bottle of soda, causing a geyser of soda to shoot up about three or four feet high out of the bottle. This really makes me wonder what would happen if you drank a can of soda and then downed a pack of Mentos. Personally I'm not planning to find out. I'm sure it wouldn't kill you, but I imagine it would fizz up into your throat and nose. WLTX provides this scientific explanation for the phenomenon:Mentos contains a chemical known as ARABIC GUM (this is the ingredient that makes the mint "chewy"). This ingredient causes the surface tension of the water molecules to break even more easily, releasing more carbon dioxide gas at an astounding rate! .....The gas causes pressure to rapidly build inside the bottle which thrusts the soda upwards in a wonderful fountain-like BLAST!
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Categories: Food Posted by Alex on Fri Sep 23, 2005 |
Comments (186) |
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Ummm, why do people keep saying that it works best with diet cola? The main ingredient for the reaction is simply the CO2 in the sugar-water.
Vernor's Gingerale has the most of any beverage that I have found.
However, other such ingredients as artificial-sweetener and welsewhat may help get the catalyst started. But the mentos thing will work with any carbonated beverage. The more carbonation = the higher the explosion, up to a point anyways.
My record with a 2L is 24 ft.
Posted by Victor on Sat Jan 06, 2007 at 02:51 PM
Vernor's Gingerale has the most of any beverage that I have found.
However, other such ingredients as artificial-sweetener and welsewhat may help get the catalyst started. But the mentos thing will work with any carbonated beverage. The more carbonation = the higher the explosion, up to a point anyways.
My record with a 2L is 24 ft.
ok well first of all you should punch a hole in the top of the bottle lid. You can do this with a nail and hammer. (keep the nail that you used because you wil need it later). Buy some chewing gum and mentos. Then chew the chewing gum for a while just enough so that its all soft and sticky. Then stick it to the lid making sure that you cover the hole. Then stick your mentos to the chewing gum.(if you want to add more then 1 mentos put another layer of chewing gum on top of the mentos then apply another mentos etc.)then screw the lid back on carefully. and get your nail and push it through the hole carefully but quickly. then stand back fast and watch your diet coke and mentos fly! it should look like a rocket cross with a fountain.
Posted by Emmie on Wed Jan 10, 2007 at 11:31 AM
It's easier if you just stick a small magnet to the Mento. Then you can use a larger magnet to keep it up in the cap until you're ready to let it spray.
Posted by Charybdis on Wed Jan 10, 2007 at 11:43 AM
this site is awesome!! im gonna try this one my bro l8r cya
Posted by no one cares on Thu Jan 11, 2007 at 08:34 AM
well im doing my proect on this and well it got me wondering if this gum arabic resolution was true soo i decided to experiment with things that didnt have gum arabic in them (such as salt sugar and even pennies) and in resolution salt fizzed even miore then mentos! well could u please anser me and tell me wat makes mentos explode in cola
Posted by poopoo on Mon Jan 15, 2007 at 02:55 PM
mine went 2682968562682 feet into the air it was sooo kool you have no idea you guys all suck because mine is a world record yeah!
Posted by Lindsay Vella on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 07:42 AM
heyy i belive that the "arabic gum" is the thingy that makes it explode and i know this because i tried it and im trying to get the stain off my roof from where the pop had hit lol
Posted by Whitneyy on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 02:15 PM
wow amazing....................................not
Posted by ryker on Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 03:15 PM
i tried this and it works
Posted by vcbcvbcxb on Mon Feb 05, 2007 at 01:30 PM
Just put diet Coke into a glass with one Mentos...lots of fizzing, no explosion. Much like plop plop fizz fizz, for those of you who remember Alka-Seltzer commercials, or the fizzy Vitamin C pills doctors here give you if you have a cold. No explosion, not even a mess in my kitchen sink. I think that answers the shape of the bottle question. I can't believe it's dangerous enough to kill anyone.
Posted by Abu Dhabi on Thu Feb 08, 2007 at 08:48 PM
with all of you people saying that this expirement is fake and it's not what people claim... then what is it?? I'm doing it for a science expirement and it seems all the websites I've been to have people saying it's wonrg. I need to know.
And for all of you people who try eating Mentos and drinking soda it didn't do anything for a reason... You'd have to eat all the mentos at the same time... If not than nothing will happen.
Posted by Lacey on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 07:08 PM
And for all of you people who try eating Mentos and drinking soda it didn't do anything for a reason... You'd have to eat all the mentos at the same time... If not than nothing will happen.
For all of the people who wonder why Diet Pepsi works better: It does'nt necessarily "work" better. I heard it's just easier to clean up at the end because it's less sticky.
And to all the people who keep saying nothing happened with 1 mentos: Well DUHH!!!! You need more than one montos. i heard 13 mentos and a 2-Liter bottle work the best
Posted by Lacey on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 07:16 PM
And to all the people who keep saying nothing happened with 1 mentos: Well DUHH!!!! You need more than one montos. i heard 13 mentos and a 2-Liter bottle work the best
We have tried it as a school science experiment and it was amazing to see the affect it had .You should try it , just remember not to drink it. Hehe....
Sam and Tam
South Africa
Penryn Collage
Posted by Sammy Hammond and Tamsin Ballantyne on Sat Feb 17, 2007 at 02:11 AM
Sam and Tam
South Africa
Penryn Collage
yeah i remember doing it in my physical science class... Astonishingly, i was the only person in the class (besides the teacher, of course) who had previously done the experiment!!
Posted by Vic on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 10:12 PM
well, this is a great reaction, but i don't believe that it has anything to do with the arabic gum, though i could be wrong. i've just always heard that it's because of the carbon dioxide. but i could be wrong, i mean sheesh im no scientist =]
Posted by shelby <3 on Sat Feb 24, 2007 at 06:14 PM
well shelby there has to be something in the montos to create the explosion. u cant just open a bottle of soda and have it explode... it has something to do with the mentos. wether its gum arabic or not im not sure. but i assure u it's not just the carbon dioxide gas... that makes no sense.
Posted by Lacey on Sat Feb 24, 2007 at 06:54 PM
nice stuff, but it the nucleation sites nothin else
Posted by MEMO on Mon Feb 26, 2007 at 06:44 PM
how do u know?!?!?!?! u dont know everything!!!
and could you tell me how you came up with that solution? and how other people came up with the wrong ones?! For my science fair project
Posted by Lacey on Mon Feb 26, 2007 at 08:27 PM
and could you tell me how you came up with that solution? and how other people came up with the wrong ones?! For my science fair project
:) I am doing a science experiement on it!
Posted by rachel on Wed Feb 28, 2007 at 08:37 AM
Umm the correct thing is cocunate oil.
Posted by abdulla on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 04:34 PM
Hey... I am planning to do this for a science fair project... Can you please help me out and provide some information (more) on why mentos cause soda to explode?.... and if there are certain types that do it... PLEASE!!! thanks.... i appreciate it a lot...
Posted by Cassy Hutchings on Mon Mar 05, 2007 at 10:21 PM
well cassy. the first answer i found was from the gum arabic and the carbon dioxide gas. im doing it for a science fair project as well. but as i came upon this site other people were saying its different things. i feel i should go with what scientists say not other people on the internet so im going with gum arabic and carbon dioxide gas. i found a really good website that has info for it. i forget the name right now but its pretty hard to follow so i gt my smart friend to translate. ill be more than willing to help u with it too. just ask on this site
Posted by Lacey on Mon Mar 05, 2007 at 11:06 PM
dunno if its been posted or not cause i didnt feel like reading all the posts, but tapping a can "defizzes" it because of a thing called efervesance, look it up
Posted by chad on Wed Mar 07, 2007 at 05:40 PM
haha, i put mentos in my mouth and drank soda, it fizzled, but nothing really major happened. It sounded really cool though!
Posted by Abbi on Wed Mar 14, 2007 at 06:08 PM
void(0);
LOLOMGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i like, love this experiment!!!!!!!! its the best !! its awesome!!!! its coooooooooooooooooooo kool!!!!! i just have 2 do it. lolvoid(0);
red face
Posted by 5hdh on Fri Mar 16, 2007 at 09:40 AM
LOLOMGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i like, love this experiment!!!!!!!! its the best !! its awesome!!!! its coooooooooooooooooooo kool!!!!! i just have 2 do it. lolvoid(0);
red face
I think that the carbon dioxide gasses cling to the little pits that are all over the mentos macking it bubble
Posted by valeri on Fri Apr 13, 2007 at 08:14 AM
rasberry tongue laugh Nice!
Posted by Zubin on Tue Apr 17, 2007 at 02:59 PM
MY CLASS IS DOING A SCIENCE
PROJECT ON THE MENTOS AND THE DIET COKE
AND I KNOW U HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THAT
AND I WAS WONDERING IF U CAN GIVE ME A REALLY
KOOL WEDSIGHT ABOUT THOES OR JUST TELL ME WAT
HAPPEND AND HOW DID U DO IT!
Posted by ASHLEY on Fri Apr 27, 2007 at 04:26 PM
PROJECT ON THE MENTOS AND THE DIET COKE
AND I KNOW U HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THAT
AND I WAS WONDERING IF U CAN GIVE ME A REALLY
KOOL WEDSIGHT ABOUT THOES OR JUST TELL ME WAT
HAPPEND AND HOW DID U DO IT!
it was fun
ghjzfgtjfthjfgjhfj
Posted by yo mammaxgfj on Wed May 16, 2007 at 01:19 PM
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ok so i have to do an end of the year project for my advanced chemistry class, i wanted to do pop rocks and soda becuz i heard it would produce the same reaction as mentos and soda... anyone know if this is tru or not? if so could you please respond asap... oh and also which sodas work the best would be helpful too :D
Posted by Court on Thu May 24, 2007 at 02:40 PM
{stupid336x280}
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