Is there something special about this gas in particular that makes it especially suited? Why not use other gasses such as Nitrogen given it’s far more common and already used a lot in the food industry?
In: Chemistry
Gases dissolve in water, but water has a limited capacity to hold any given gas. But carbon dioxide is different, because it doesn’t just dissolve, it *reacts* with water to create carbonic acid. That frees up more room for the water to take up more carbon dioxide, which then reacts to form more acid … and so as a result, **water can hold 100 times more carbon dioxide than it can hold nitrogen or oxygen.**
This is why beer with carbon dioxide in it creates a big fluffy foamy head, while beer with nitrogen gas in it (Guinness for instance) has a small, dense head.
The carbonic acid, just like any other acid, makes the water taste tart, which adds to the flavor of carbonated drinks.
So carbon dioxide is perfect if you want a lot of bubbles and a nice tart flavor. There are a few other gases that react with water instead of just dissolving in it, such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, but these are highly poisonous and taste terrible.
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