After the taste, the only thing that satisfies a soft drink is the fizz. Everyone will agree that the more the bubbles, the more it is loved by all. When you open the bottle and take a sip, the bubbles burst and tickle your taste buds. Ever wondered how this happens? Here we have exclusively curated this blog to help you understand how soft drinks are made fizzy and the science behind them.

The Science Behind the Fizz

The pop or fizzy sound that you hear on opening the bottle, comes from carbonation. Carbonation is the process by which carbon dioxide is mixed in the plain/flavoured water under high pressure. Carbon dioxide gas is an odourless and colourless and colourless gas. You cannot see the gas dissolved in the water till the bottle or the can is sealed.

It will look like a flat soda with little or no bubbles as the carbon dioxide in the liquid and above the liquid reach the equilibrium state. The bubbles will not escape until you open the bottle. The moment you open the bottle, the carbon dioxide in the bottle will be released in the form of small bubbles that keep on bursting till they come on top.

Let’s have a look at some factors that impact the amount of fizz in any liquid.

1.       Freshness Matters – Even a closed bottle kept for over months, may lose its carbonation gradually. For opened bottles, carbon dioxide leaves more quickly when kept open for a longer time. It is recommended to close the lid to retain the maximum fizziness. However, for opened bottles, even if you keep the lid closed, carbon dioxide will keep on escaping and the fizz will be over in a few days turning into a flat soda. It’s best to buy and drink medium bottles such as 250-300ml for maximum fizz and these can be emptied in one go.

2.       Temperature of Drink – The colder the drink, the more bubblier it will be. It’s a property of the carbon dioxide that it will not dissolve under high temperatures, or the dissolving capacity gets slower. This can certainly be improved by keeping your favourite cold drink in the refrigerator or drinking them chilled. More carbon dioxide will stay dissolved under cold temperatures. This is proven by the fact that when you open a cold soft drink, it’s bubblier than the one kept at room temperature.

3.        Fizziness and Surface Tension – Surface Tension means how strongly molecules of the liquid interact with each other. It's maximum for plain water where it’s only water molecules. The surface tension lowers when something is mixed such as sugar or sweeteners. The lesser the surface tension, the more carbon dioxide bubbles are formed, and they last for a longer period of time. For the diet drinks, artificial or natural sweeteners are added. This reduces the interaction between the water molecules, further reducing the surface tension. This is the reason why diet drinks have more fizz, and the bubbles stay for longer as compared to their other version.

Getting Bubbles into the Soft Drink

During the older times, a water-filled container was placed over any process that released carbon dioxide. For instance, chalk on reacting with sulphuric acid produces carbon dioxide. A water container was placed over this reaction which carbonated the water through the carbon dioxide released from the process. These processes are time-consuming and offer fizz which lasts for a shorter time.

The new modern methods use forced carbonation into the soft drinks under high pressure. The benefit of this process was that the fizz lasted for a longer period.

No one loves a flat soda. Adding fizz to any soda drink or a flavoured drink elevates its taste and gives a refreshing appeal as well. It’s the carbon dioxide and the resulting carbonic acid that gives a little bitter taste and satisfying appeal to the drink otherwise, it would be like drinking sugar in water.

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