Why does carbonation from seltzers dissipate much faster than carbonation from beer or soda?
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Let’s assume all things are equal, and we are comparing all of the above in aluminum cans.
It’s all about specific gravity and viscosity. Seltzer is just CO2 trapped in water, whereas soda and beer contain sugar, making it more viscous this harder for the CO2 to escape. Imagine trying to swim out of a pool of water vs. trying to swim out of a pool of motor oil. Diet sodas contain salts and coloring that make them slightly more viscous than water, but even those will lose carbonation faster than a full sugar soda or beer.
As far as I understand it, the seltzers have basically bubbled some CO2 at macroscopic level through the liquid. Some has been mixed/absorbed, but the diffusion coefficient is low at best.
Fermentation of beer happens at microscopic level over a long period of time in a pressurised container. The liquid has therefore reached maximum absorption, and any excess CO2 is just increasing the pressure of the container and preventing further CO2 escape.
Soda is somewhere between the two, but the pressure is more important than the size of the CO2 bubbles, since that is providing the upper limit of CO2 absorption.
To use an analogy, its the difference between dropping an ice cube in your drink vs dropping your drink in the freezer; in the first case, it’s only going to take some coldness from what you’ve put in it, in the second its going to keep getting colder and colder with each passing second until it reaches a predetermined temperature.
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