[ELI5] Why is CO2, as opposed to other inert gases, the primary and seemingly only gas used to make soda?

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[ELI5] Why is CO2, as opposed to other inert gases, the primary and seemingly only gas used to make soda?

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5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

CO2 reacts with water under pressure to make carbonic acid. This is what makes soda taste acidic. Other gasses used in food such as nitrogen and nitrus oxide does not have the same chemical reaction with water and does not make noticeable amounts of acid.

Anonymous 0 Comments

You don’t want it to be inert, it needs to react with water to be „trapped“ in it. It also increases acidity. Which of those aspects is more important is up for debate and taste.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Besides other people’s correct answers, it’s also really cheap because it’s a byproduct of a lot of industries. So even if there were other things that worked just as well, we’d use CO2 anyways.

Same reason CO2 gets used for paintball guns and other things. Super cheap.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s not. I’ve had nitrogen sodas, which have a very different feel. CO2 is just cheap and common, so it’s the most used.

Anonymous 0 Comments

From my understanding, a major reason would probably be that CO2 is more soluble in water than most other gases.