On the "List of 100 Most Awesome Scientific Revelations & Refreshing Beverage Innovations" -- a list I just made up for this post -- I concede that the investigation into the best way to pour a Coke -- so you lose the least amount of carbonation -- is several positions below the sequencing of the human genome.
However, the proper way to pour a Coke is clearly above both juice in a squeezable pouch and making Red Bull taste less like toilet water.
As a near life long Coke drinker (preferably Mexican Coke, which is made with real sugar) I have always wanted to know precisely why some pours from a can or bottle into a tall glass filled with ice end with Coke foaming up over the side (as above) and going near flat before I even take the first refreshing sip.
So -- I decided to figure it out. I even spoke to a world renowned astro-physicist who I had collaborated with on a previous project.
Turns out there are quite a few scientific factors at work that will determine whether your Coke goes flat upon pouring or remains refreshingly carbonated.
- The temperature of the soda itself. Room Temperature vs Refrigerated
- The Way You Pour The Coke: Down the Middle of the Glass vs Tilted Glass, Down The Side
- The Ice. Smooth vs Rough
- Ice in the glass BEFORE pouring vs Ice dropped into the glass after pouring
- The Drinking Vessel: A smooth glass vs a rougher styrofoam/plastic cup.
- Chemistry
- The solubility of gasses, specifically: CO2: cold liquid vs hot/warm liquid
- Nucleation. What is nucleation, you ask? It's all explained in the video below!
You can see the entire experiment by watching the video below.
Jon Hotchkiss is the creator, director & writer of This vs That. He also created: The Truth About Sex (Playboy TV), Invasion of the X-Mas Lights (TLC), My Dad is Better Than Your Dad (NBC), and Punkin Chunkin (Science). Jon also ran the series Bullshit with Penn & Teller. You can reach him here. See additional experiments here.