Why does Mentos and Diet Coke react explosively?

Question

I have seen many videos on this. What is the reaction?

Answer 1

One might guess that the acid in the soda might be reacting with some kind of carbonate in the mint coating to create CO2 carbon dioxide fizz. Mentos have a strange chalky color and texture and they do taste a bit like antacid (calcium carbonate) tablets. However, the ingredients do not include carbonates or, for that matter, any other significantly alkaline material. Mint Mentos contain sugar (sucrose), glucose, coconut oil, starch, emulsifiers, natural flavor, and gum arabic.

So why do Mentos make soda foam up? It's a physical reaction, not a chemical one. Ordinarily, water resists the expansion of bubbles in the soda. Water molecules attract each other strongly, forming a tight mesh around each bubble. It takes energy to push water molecules away from each other to form a new bubble, or to expand a bubble that has already been formed. The property is called surface tension. The oils, emulsifiers, and gum arabic from the dissolving candy disrupt the water mesh, so it takes less work to expand bubbles. At the same time, the roughness of the candy surface provides many little nooks and crannies (more surface area) that allow new bubbles to form more quickly. As more of the surface dissolves, both processes accelerate, and foam rapidly begins to form.

You can see a similar effect when cooking potatoes or pasta in a pot of boiling water. The water will sometimes boil over because organic materials that leach out of the cooking potatoes or pasta disrupt the tight mesh of water molecules at the surface of the water, making it easier for bubbles and foam to form. Root beer can also foam over if a scoop of ice cream is added, for essentially the same reason. The surface tension of the root beer is lowered by gums and proteins from the melting ice cream, and the CO2 outgassing from the root beer blows the foam.

Answer 2

watch Mythbusters........ they found the awnser as to Why.........