Why does soda fizz exessively for no apparant reason?

Question

I opened a can of coke and took a drink, then sat down the can. About 2 minutes later the soda started fizzing out the top of the can. By the time it quit fizzing about 3-5 minutes later, it was completely flat.

remember that it was about TWO MINUTES after i opened it

i thought Samienela had a good answer until I opened a second can of soda in the same room and it did the same...weird

my boyfriend thinks it's supernatural but i think there's a logical explaination.

the humidity is normal and so is the temperature...i don't know what it is.

Answer 1

It's due to the carbon dioxide in the can. The fizz in the soda
is actually dissolved carbon dioxide gas. Soda fizzes when dissolved carbon dioxide gas is released in the form of bubbles.
At the bottling plant, carbon dioxide molecules are forced into the soda in an amount that is greater than would ordinarily dissolve under atmospheric conditions. As soon as you open the bottle, most of the excess gas escapes into the room - that's a given! So, it's your job to find a way to keep the remaining gas in the liquid.

Answer 2

Heat increases 'fizzing' by giving co2 gas enough kinetic energy to dissociate from water and be released into the atmosphere.

Also, when you opened that can, you decreased the vapor pressure on top of the liquid. This pressure helps keep the co2 dissolved in the liquid. But if it is lost when exposed to air, dissolved co2 tend to escape from the liquid.

After your can of soda 'fizzed out' the liquid actually lost a lot of dissolved co2. Co2 contributes to the flavor of the soda by making it slightly acidic. This is a characteristic of sodas. Without dissolved co2, it wouldn't taste much like a soda anymore, making it taste flat.

Answer 3

Good eye and great question!

The fizzing you described reminds me of the "mentos and diet coke" experiment in which the rough surface of the mento candies causes rapid formation of bubbles of carbon dioxide which in turn cause foam to burst out of the soda bottle.

I would guess that something forced that carbon dioxide to come out of solution much faster than normal. Either something served as a nucleation site for bubble formation, or the driving force for escape of the CO2 from solution was greater than usual.

Is it possible that something with a rough surface got into the can, either when you were opening it, or something from your mouth, or maybe something fell in later? Or did you maybe put down your can in a very hot place? Either one of those could have caused the rapid fizzing you observed.

Answer 4

It is because the soda is carbonated, as in, carbon dioxide was forcefully added to the soda during packaging, and when you open it, the 'fizz' is the carbon dioxide escaping the soda. Same deal with "fizzy water"

Answer 5

it contains CO2 as a preservative.
In the process of making soda, rum or any type of drink that has some fizz, yeast is used to break down sugar dissolved in warm liquid, upon breaking down the sugar (anaerobic respiration) the yeast will release carbon dioxide...........

Answer 6

Yep - with you there! 0.5 my team down too. i think of this is coz we do not have sunshine and blue skies. I hate November til January because of the fact this is soooo gray everywhere. My moods tip on the blink of a watch for no glaring reason this time of one year. Cheer up chuck - the next day's yet another day :)

Answer 7

all that happened is the CO2 left solution. could be that dust settled into the can giving enough surface area to help desolvate the CO2

Answer 8

poor a bunch of salt in it :p