if you tap the top of a soda can, does that keep it from spraying when shaken and why?

Question

I've gotten in the habit of tapping and i wanna know if it's doing anything

Answer 1

I learned that in high school, I have never had a can explode with soda

Answer 2

It seems that the resources show that tapping may not be enough to stop a shaken soda can from exploding. The element of time of settling the pressure inside the can is still the bigger factor.

"Tapping on the top of a carbonated beverage can (or bottle) before
opening it may help prevent the drink from exploding out of the can upon opening (although it might not be sufficient!)."

"If the can is opened immediately after shaking, it is likely that the
beverage will spray all over the place, since some liquid from all
parts of the can will be pushed ahead of escaping gas and out the can (hey, bubbles float to the top and these bubbles are under pressure too!). When the can is tapped before opening, bubbles adhering to the sides and bottom of the can may be jarred free. Assuming the can is upright, the bubbles, being lighter than the liquid, will float to the top of the can."

First let's consider the matter from a theoretical
perspective. Carbonation is produced by forcing carbon dioxide into solution with H2O under pressure. Shake up the can and you create thousands of micro-size bubbles. Each bubble offers a tiny surface where CO2 can rapidly come out of solution, creating the potential for explosive fizzing should you open the can prematurely. Wait a while though, and the bubbles will float to the top of the can and disappear, and eventually all will be as before."

"But suppose you're the impatient type. You tap the can. What, pray tell, is this supposed to accomplish? Are we going to noodge the tiny bubbles to the surface faster, after the manner of herding cows? Are we going to maybe dislodge a few bubbles that have stuck to the sides of the can? Maybe we are, but the difference is slight. Open that baby and you're still going to get a faceful of froth.

Answer 3

I heard about this several years ago and have recently been told that what works even better than tapping the top of the can is tapping the side of the can. This allows more of the carbonated bubbles to be expelled prior to opening the can--which could cause an explosion :)

Answer 4

No. This myth was busted on Myth Busters.

Reason: When you shake a can you create air bubbles. The pressure causes a soda can to spray soda when you open it. If you tap the can it doesn't remove the air bubbles since there is no where for the bubbles to go... regardless of all the tapping you do the can will still spray if you open it like normal.

Answer 5

Yes. We tested that theory several years ago. By tapping you burst some of the bubbles that would cause the drink to fizz out. Keep tapping.

Answer 6

The tapping pops all the bubbles so they dont spray out.

Answer 7

The bottle doesn't expand, it just tightens because the air is pushing right up against the bottle as it fills up the entire bottle. The carbon dioxide is already in the bottle, but it's in the drink, not just in the bottle. Only when you shake the bottle does the CO2 get released from the drink.

Answer 8

i seen people tap a shaken can for up to 10 minutes. and i just let it sit for 3 minutes and not tap it and it o.k.

Answer 9

i think when you tap it it....

all the bubbles lose there power and it works if you tap it on the bottom to

Answer 10

I think some people think it pops the bubbles underneath the metal pop top... I don't see how it could.