Idea created from sparkling water
In: Physics
carbonated drinks have the CO2 in solution, meaning the CO2 is dissolved in the liquid.The air above the liquid when sealed is at equilibrium with the CO2 that is dissolved in the liquid. Another way of saying that there’s the same “partial pressure” of CO2 in the liquid as in the gas above the liquid so no CO2 comes out of the liquid to the gas.
when you open the bottle you release the extra pressure of mostly CO2, which lowers the partial pressure of CO2 significantly above the liquid. That lowering of pressure, especially CO2 partial pressure causes the liquid to have a higher partial pressure CO2. Things flow from high pressure to low pressure until they’re at equilibrium. So you get CO2 coming out of the solution in the form of gas bubbles.
IF you were to open a bottle of carbonated beverage and let it start to bubble, then close the bottle, you would notice that the bubbles stop forming, and after they all rise to the top and “pop” no more would form until you again open the bottle. Also, right after closing the bottle, squeeze it. it’s soft, meaning the pressure in the bottle is low. After the bubbles have all risen to the top and have popped, squeeze the bottle again. you’ll notice it’s stiff, indicating there’s more pressure in the bottle than before. That pressure came from the CO2 coming out of solution in the liquid (the bubbles) until equilibrium was reached.
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