"Coca-Cola" and milk, "Coca-Cola" and "Mentos": myths and truth in experiments

Around Coca-Cola, there are many myths and even terrible stories that constantly stirs up interest in this drink. Experiments with Coca-Cola overflow the Internet, creating new myths, then refuting them. Many have already heard about the experiments with "Mentos", however, most people who want to repeat their home did not succeed. We will try to explain the main reason for these failures from the point of view of physics. But the experiments, which combine "Coca-Cola" and milk, for someone will be a discovery.

"Scary" truth about "Coca-Cola"

"Coca-Cola" and milk are two available ingredients, the combination of which can surprise you. The cocktail that results from the experiment is a clear liquid with a sediment. How can you get a clear liquid from a dark "Coca-Cola" and white opaque milk? Often such materials on the Internet carry anti-propaganda about the use of cola. This is not surprising, because during the experiment you can see the non-aesthetic processes inside the bottle.

Therefore, the headlines of such articles are full of names like "Think about what you drink", "Poison in a bottle of a drink", etc. The worse it sounds, the better, but a reasonable person will always look for more compelling reasons and draw their conclusions.

We are conducting a milk experiment

You will not need anything supernatural and hard-to-reach, except that you can buy at the nearest supermarket: Coca-Cola and milk. The experiment can be carried out by everyone who wishes at home. Proportions of ingredients:

• A 0.5-liter Coca-Cola bottle;
• Milk 50 g.

We take a bottle of Coca-Cola and gradually pour milk into it, and then we plug it with a lid. If the lid is not closed, then during the reaction, the liquid will tend to come out. Leave the bottle for 2-2.5 hours and calmly do their own business or watch the course of events.

During the experiment, you will see how flakes form in the liquid and slowly fall to the bottom. This waltz of flakes gradually brightens "Coca-Cola", making it more transparent. At the end of the appointed time, we find that the liquid in the bottle has become completely transparent, and at the bottom a non-appetizing cottage cheese has formed. This curd is, by the way, quite edible, but hardly anyone will have a desire to eat it.

We draw conclusions - to drink or not to drink?

So how to treat this transparent liquid with flakes on the bottom that give Coca-Cola and milk? In some articles, you will read caution from the use of Coca-Cola. Videos with a reaction that occurs in a bottle of a favorite by many drink, of course, will convince you that you are drinking a certain chemical. Memories from the lessons of chemistry will also add a negative, because there in the precipitate were completely inedible flakes.

In fact, everything is very simple - the components of milk react with the acid, which is in Coca-Cola, and precipitate. It's no secret that the fragrant drink contains orthophosphoric acid, which causes coagulation. Similarly, the formation of cottage cheese and the separation of whey, if the acidified milk is heated. No one stops drinking milk for this reason, since this is a completely normal process.

"Mentos" and "Coca-Cola" - a myth or fiction?

Surely everyone has heard about the explosive reaction of refreshing candies "Mentos" in the bottle of "Coca-Cola." There are also more impressive facts about what happens if you drink a bottle of Coca-Cola and seize its minty Mentos.

So, many undertook to conduct such an experiment and saw nothing at all. There is a suspicion that these stories are nothing more than a myth. The reason is that any experience should be conducted in certain conditions, the accuracy in the choice of ingredients is also important. If everything is done correctly in terms of chemistry, then the gushing pot with the "Cola" is provided to you.

Correcting errors in the experience with Mentos and Coca-Cola

Where do we often get Coca-Cola from in the supermarket? Of course, from the refrigerator - that's the first mistake making the experience useless. The fact is that the reaction requires a warm "Cola", in a cold environment, all processes slow down, and the experiment does not give the desired result.

Best conditions and ingredients:

• Low-calorie Coca-Cola light (corked) room temperature;
• Mint Mentos, preferably without glaze and unpainted.

Under the conditions described, the bottle of "Cola" was transformed with candy into a stormy fountain. At once it is necessary to warn that such an experience is better to be carried out not in the house, unless you plan a spring cleaning.

The chemical substantiation of the "explosion" in the bottle of "Coca-Cola"

The famous "Destroyers of Myths" on Discovery Channel did not ignore this experiment and explained how the tandem "Mentos" and "Coca-Cola" works. Experiments have shown that this is not a myth, the whole point is that the candy creates foci of heterogeneity, in which the dissolved carbon dioxide is released with great force. The rest of the beverage, such as aspartame (sugar substitute), sodium benzonate and caffeine, play a role, as well as gum arabic and gelatin in Mentosa. All of them perfectly combine and create a chain reaction that releases all carbon dioxide at once. This makes from a bottle of "Cola" a stormy fountain, which is used to create spectacular performances.

It must be said that the same "Destroyers of myths" dispelled rumors about the possible damage (or rupture) of the stomach as a result of the use of Coca-Cola and Mentosa at the same time. At least, the pig's stomach (like a human), as a result of the introduction of a cocktail in which Mentos and Coca-Cola were located, remained intact. But it's not recommended to conduct such an experiment on yourself.