eli5 – why does tapping the top of a pop can make it fizz less? Or is that just a myth I’ve been practicing for 30+ years?

Question

What the title says. Pop means soda btw.

In: 1560

Answer 1

It depends on if there are bubbles clinging to the inside of the can(those bubbles can be caused by an increase in temperature). If so, tapping can dislodge them so they don’t act as nucleation sites.

If you’re talking about doing it between shaking a can and opening it, that’s more of a myth, what matters then is just waiting for the suspended bubbles to rise to the surface before opening it. Just waiting for a minute before opening it will be more effective.