what happens if you use regualr coke? why is it always diet?
2006-08-12 16:09:05 · 9 answers · asked by .sing.dance.smile. 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
The Myth busters tackled this.
the sacharrin, caffiene, and one other chemical in the soda that aided in a higher fountain vs. club soda.
It was a combination of some of the mentos ingredients and the rough surface texture that made mentos work.
the basic premise is that the mentos have a lot of "nucleation sites" that is areas for CO2 bubbles to form.
You can get higher fountains by using rock salt instead of mentos.
regarding using just club soda, it is unimpressive, it only bubles about 4".
2006-08-12 16:15:17 · answer #1 · answered by nathanael_beal 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
regular coke would also work. People use diet because it is less sticky. You dont just have to use mentos either. Basically anything that dissolves into small grains would work. pouring a sugar packet or salt or even sand would probably work. The explosion thing isnt really any different from just shaking up the bottle. The mentos just disturb the soda enough to make it easier for the gas molecules to congregate to the point that they esacape the liquid.
2006-08-12 23:22:21 · answer #2 · answered by abcdefghijk 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's less sticky when it comes time to clean the geyser up. But the truth is no one is entirely sure why it seems to work best. It is likely that either Diet Coke is pumped full of more carbon dioxide than its soda peers or its artificial sweeteners permit more carbon dioxide to dissolve in the liquid (once again by strengthening the surface tension). Or it could be that Diet Coke is kept colder than other sodas; cold water can hold more carbon dioxide.
I've also read that It didn’t seem to make much of a difference which kind you use, the result was pretty much the same. Just It's less sticky when it comes time to clean the geyser up.
2006-08-12 23:13:13 · answer #3 · answered by j123 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Myth Busters did tackle this, but I never saw the episode and am not sure if they referred to the website that I am linking. It's a bunch of guys who have too much spare time and created a series of diet coke and mentos fountains set to music, Bellagio-style.
In their FAQ, they say it works with regular coke too--but, as mentioned earlier in this thread, diet coke is less sticky.
2006-08-12 23:25:59 · answer #4 · answered by xaandria 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Myth Busters did a special on this the other night. It has to do with some of the chemicals found in Diet Coke vs. regular coke.
2006-08-12 23:25:29 · answer #5 · answered by bobcat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people hate diet is why they use it. The same thing happens with Sprite or Pepsi. I assume Your talking about the experiment where you drop the mentos into teh carbonated beverage and it formes a fountain. This experiment works with any carbonated beverage, including carbonated water.
2006-08-12 23:14:54 · answer #6 · answered by Sniper 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the other ingredients in diet coke (artificial sweetners and such) help the reaction take place at a faster rate...
2006-08-12 23:17:07 · answer #7 · answered by craminator 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This was on Mythbusters today and yes it's only diet.
2006-08-12 23:15:19 · answer #8 · answered by chi chi 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
mythbusters lol
try regular but i think it the ingredents in diet that make it happen
2006-08-13 01:43:01 · answer #9 · answered by hillbilly271 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋