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rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2477 Posts 
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I'm working on a routine involving the (now-)famous reaction between Mentos mints and Diet Coke. Details later.
I have no experience with Mentos. Bought a roll and it didn't work. My son pointed to the work "chewy mints" on the label, and the candy coating (like a giant white M&M) and said that the Mentos I want are crunchy, and that they are also known to emit sparks of light when crunched in the dark. Went back to the grocery and could only find "chewy". So please answer a stupid question: Do they make the original kind any more, and what do I look for or ask for to get the right kind? Thanks. |
Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts
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I've been a Mentos fan for years and the only version I know is the chewy center type. If there's a "crunchy" version, I'm not aware of it.
(From Wikipedia) Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, known as "The MythBusters," explained that the fruit flavored Mentos produced a smaller reaction because the wax coating blocks the pits that allow nucleation. The plain mint Mentos give the best reaction. Diet colas are also preferred because they do not contain large amounts of sugar like regular colas. Sugar molecules help keep the carbon dioxide in solution, slowing the reaction. Artificial sweeteners in diet colas are much sweeter per molecule, and so make up a smaller proportion of the solution and allow a faster, more enhanced reaction.
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kcg5 Inner circle who wants four fried chickens and a coke 1868 Posts
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Uhh, they are the fresh maker?
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landmark Inner circle within a triangle 5194 Posts
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In my neck of the woods (okay, blighted sidewalk) the candy that was said to emit sparks when cracked in half were called Necco wafers. Round like Mentos, but flat and skinny. Haven't seen them around in a long time. Don't know what happens when you drop them in Coke.
Of course there's always Alka-Seltzer tablets if you want some fizz. Jack
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Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts
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Skip's answer is right on. In simple terms, soda is carbonated at a pressure three and a half times the normal pressure we all feel all the time. This "atmospheric" pressure will not hold gasses anywhere but in order by weight; heavy on the bottom, lighter on top. In normal conditions, adding carbon dioxide gas to a can or bottle of soda (a heavy liquid) will giver you a bottle of soda, with the gas on top. That is no Fizz at all. If you have ever opened a can of soda that is too old and gone flat, that is what you have. Somehow it does not taste so good. In normal drinking of a soda, the carbon dioxide is released slowly as "Fizz". At three and a half atmospheric pressure, the carbon dioxide will stay dissolved and mixed in the liquid long enough to shelve for a time and then drink.
What the candy coating does is allow the release of the carbon dioxide all at once and instantly. Hence the reaction. The carbon dioxide comes out so quickly that it literally pushes the soda up and out. Class dismissed.
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RS1963 Inner circle 2734 Posts
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I don't know if they do or not but the only candy that I have ever heard of or read about emitting sparks when bitten are were, Life Savers peppermints.
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MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts
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I learned something about soda. If you are at 5000 feet and drop a warm Dr. Pepper it will explode and blast soda all over your car and up your shorts and then if you don't get the soda off your car while wet, which is only a few minutes at 100 degrees, it sticks there.
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Magnus Eisengrim Inner circle Sulla placed heads on 1053 Posts
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Here's an article in New Scientist. Looks like a bona fide physicist--Tonya Coffey at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina--has investigated and written about the phenomenon.
A more detailed article is in American Journal of Physics -- June 2008 -- Volume 76, Issue 6, pp. 551-557, but you can't get the article on the web without paying. John
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balducci Loyal user Canada 227 Posts
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Quote:
On 2009-08-21 23:00, rossmacrae wrote: From what I've read on the web, seems like it should have worked for you with the chewy mints. Was your cola / soda flat by chance?
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Stevethomas Inner circle Southern U.S.A. 3728 Posts
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The sparking is caused by the crystalline nature of some candies. Much as the piezo effect between 2 crystals being rubbed or struck together. Peppermint (or, more correctly, Pep-O-Mint) Lifesavers candy will spark when crunched.
Steve |
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rossmacrae Inner circle Arlington, Virginia 2477 Posts
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Okay, I've reached a conclusion - in a glass (however large) the mentos did no better than a crushed Alka-Seltzer.
So I'm working from there (trying to make a harmless liquid look like it is reacting to a metal stirrer as though it were acid). Any other ideas would be gratefully tried. |
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RS1963 Inner circle 2734 Posts
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Quote: Vinegar and baking soda. would work well.
On 2009-08-22 22:17, rossmacrae wrote: |
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Doomo Inner circle 2364 Posts
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Quote:
On 2009-08-22 22:17, rossmacrae wrote: Uhmmm... NOT in a glass... The candies go into the bottle... Just a fyi.
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| The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Not very magical, still... » » Someone help me understand Mentos mints... (0 Likes) | |
Posted: Aug 22, 2009 03:00 am 
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