One of my children used to collect cans of soda. We still have them full of various brands. One or two leaked out all the soda awhile ago but the cans have not oxidized.
2007-02-01 14:25:16 · 2 answers · asked by kriend 7 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Excellent answers. The cans have been sitting around 11 years now. Difficult to pick a best answer because both are great. I will leave this to all the other answerers to choose.
2007-02-01 16:42:20 · update #1
Aluminium is naturally quite resistant to oxidization because the outer surface is reactive and will turn into very though aluminium oxide, which protects the metal under it (by contrast, iron oxide -- rust -- is very fragile and flakes off, exposing the underlying metal to more oxidation).
To add to all this, the inside of aluminium cans is also coated with a lacquer to protect against the acidity of the content. Those cans can last thousand of years... That is why it is important to recycle them; especially since producing new aluminium from recycled can is a lot cheaper than doing it from ore.
2007-02-01 14:34:15 · answer #1 · answered by Vincent G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It should not oxidize and open. If the cans were subjected to heat or pressure or somehow pin holed they would leak.
2007-02-01 22:30:40 · answer #2 · answered by science teacher 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋