What you will need:
- One liter bottle of club soda
- Rubber stopper (make sure it fits into the opening of your one liter bottle)
- Plastic tubing (approximately 12” in length and about ¼” in diameter)
- Drill
- Drill bit (same size as your plastic tubing)
- Adult supervision
Procedure:
- Drill a hole in the center of the rubber stopper as shown
- Insert your tubing into the hole so that the bottom end of the tubing is almost touching the bottom of the one liter bottle when you inset the stopper. You may want to cut the bottom end of your tubing at an angle to prevent it from creating a seal if it comes in contact with the bottom of the bottle.
- Go outside. No, really, if you are not outside, please go outside before completing the next two steps. Ok, now, slowly remove cap from your bottle of club soda. Firmly insert your stopper into the opening at the top of the one liter bottle as shown.
- You will notice that as soon as you press the stopper firmly into the opening that the club soda will begin spraying out of the end of your tubing. Now, shake your club soda making sure to hold the stopper in with your finger.
What is going on?
Like any carbonated beverage, your club soda contains carbon dioxide gas. This is why it is considered a “carbonated” beverage. The little bubbles that you see forming inside your drink and rising to the top are little bubbles of Cartbon dioxide gas. Once you remove the cap from the bottle, the bubbles immediately begin rising to the top of your drink where they will pop and release the gas. When you place the stopper firmly into the opening, the gas is unable to escape and begins building up pressure inside the bottle. This pressure does not stay in this small area of gas molecules above your drink. The pressure is also distributed throughout the liquid that is in your bottle. This is known as Pascal’s Law which states that when the pressure changes in a confined space on an incompressible fluid, that pressure is transmitted throughout the entire fluid. Basically, all of your liquid is now under pressure and is trying to escape and, the only way out, is through the tube! The more you shake your club soda, the more pressure there is and the further it will spray!
Try this: Try pouring club soda into a baby bottle, then place your finger over the hole in the nipple and shae it up! What do you think will happen?
Radical Rick
Extreme Science
509-892-7621
