| Bearcat729 |
08-10-2006 08:20 PM |
From Wikipedia about the episode that was on last night and will air again on Saturday
Diet Coke and Mentos
This is the first segment not to be assigned a "Busted", "Plausible" or "Confirmed" rating, as there was no "myth" to be proved or disproved. The tests done by Adam and Jamie were done simply to dissect the process and determine what actually makes a so-called Diet Coke geyser.
Question
Why do Diet Coke and Mentos make a geyser?
Results
It is mostly because the (uncolored/unglazed version of) Mentos provides nucleation sites for the dissolved carbon dioxide in the Diet Coke to escape as a gas. Other active ingredients in the reaction include aspartame (artificial sweetener), potassium benzoate (preservative), and caffeine in the Diet Coke; and gum arabic and gelatin in the Mentos.
The MythBusters also set a new record for the cola geyser at just over 30 feet by using a nozzle. They extended it to 34 feet by using rock salt, which is even more porous and hence provides even more nucleation sites per area than Mentos. Adam and Jamie also created homemade pyrotechnics using water, liquid soap and methane; smoke bombs from saltpeter and sugar; demonstrated a way to remove Pringles chips from their container by using hydrogen gas; and created a concussion bomb with dry ice and a 2-litre soda bottle. It's mentioned at the end of the epiode Adam would like to try out more improvoised explovives in another episode.
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