**History**:
– Wint-O-Green Life Savers were initially used for soda geysers in the 1910s.
– Mentos candies replaced Wintergreen Lifesavers due to their similar effect in any carbonated soft drink.
– Lee Marek and Mareks Kid Scientists performed the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1999.
– Steve Spangler demonstrated the experiment on KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado in March 2002.
– The Diet Coke and Mentos geyser experiment gained popularity on the internet in September 2005 and was featured on MythBusters in 2006.
**Chemistry**:
– The eruption is a physical reaction caused by rapid nucleation of carbon dioxide gas bubbles upon adding Mentos to soda.
– Up to 14 million bubbles are produced per liter of soda during the experiment.
– Carbonated sodas are supersaturated with carbon dioxide under pressure, leading to rapid bubble formation upon opening the bottle.
– Mentos candies contain millions of cavities that act as nucleation sites for rapid degassing of carbon dioxide.
– Mentos lower the activation energy for bubble formation, making them catalysts in the reaction.
**Alternatives**:
– Any carbonated beverage can create a soda geyser, not just Diet Coke and Mentos.
– Diet Coke is often preferred for its strong effect, but other diet sodas work equally well.
– Besides Mentos, other items like candy, metal, and ceramics can nucleate carbonated beverages.
– Various additives in sodas influence the foaming reaction, affecting the height and stability of the geyser.
– Factors like viscosity and surface tension impact the effectiveness of different sodas in the experiment.
**Physics**:
– The geyser reaction involves the rapid release of carbon dioxide bubbles due to nucleation sites provided by Mentos.
– The physical characteristics of Mentos, including surface roughness, play a crucial role in bubble formation.
– The nucleation process is enhanced by the presence of additives in sodas like potassium benzoate and aspartame.
– The nucleation reaction can start on any heterogeneous surface, with Mentos being particularly effective.
– Various factors like dissolved solids and alcohol concentrations influence the height of the geyser.
**Records and Impact**:
– In October 2010, a Guinness World Record of 2,865 simultaneous geysers was set in Manila, Philippines.
– This record was later broken in November 2014 in Mexico, with 4,334 Mentos and soda fountains set off simultaneously.
– The popularity of the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment led to the development of toys like the Geyser Tube.
– Spangler’s licensing agreement with Perfetti Van Melle facilitated the creation of apparatus for easier geyser production.
– The geyser experiment continues to be a source of entertainment and educational value worldwide.
A soda geyser is a physical reaction between a carbonated beverage, usually Diet Coke, and Mentos mints that causes the beverage to be expelled from its container. The candies catalyze the release of gas from the beverage, which creates an eruption that pushes most of the liquid up and out of the bottle. Lee Marek and "Marek's Kid Scientists" were the first to publicly demonstrate the experiment on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1999. Steve Spangler's televised demonstration of the eruption in 2005 became popular on YouTube, launching a chain of several other Diet Coke and Mentos experiment viral videos. Experiments carried out at altitudes ranging from below sea level in Death Valley to the summit of Pikes Peak have demonstrated that the reaction works better at higher elevations.