why, when pouring a carbonated beverage, do you get less fizz/bubbles if you tilt the glass you’re pouring it into?
In: Chemistry
Bubbles form around nucleation points – rough areas, or bits of imperceptibly small dirt on the inside of the glass. But nucleation points can also be formed by turbulence in liquid.
When you pour with a straight glass, the liquid falls the height of the glass and splashes, increasing the turbulence and thus the fizz. But if you tilt the glass and pour the liquid down the side, it’s not falling as far, and it gently runs down the side of the glass, so there is much less turbulence in which to form bubbles.
If you let the drink splash to the bottom of the glass, you’re going to have a lot of air bubbles in the water. These air bubbles allow CO2 to escape from the liquid into air, making the bubbles grow and quickly rise to the surface.
By pouring the liquid down the side of the glass, you create a lot fewer air bubbles so it won’t foam nearly as much.
The bubbles need to be freed from the liquid by stirring or giving energy to the liquid these bubbles come out easier, when you tilt the glass the liquid has less far to fall before it hits the side of the glass rather than the bottom, so it has less energy and momentum.
Latest Answers