Can of Coke in Liquid Nitrogen - Periodic Table of Videos

TL;DR

Professor experiments with freezing Coke and Pepsi cans in liquid nitrogen, resulting in different outcomes.

Transcript

[fizzling] I was talking to one of my students, and mentioned how years ago, one of my coworkers had put a Coke can in a lab chiller, and it had blown up, and the bits had damaged the pump of the chiller. And then I suddenly thought, what would happen if we put a Coke can in liquid nitrogen? So late last night, I went out and bought two cans of cok... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥺 Liquid nitrogen causes CO₂ expansion in Coke, leading to a spectacular explosion.
• 🍘 Ice in liquid nitrogen tends to crack into smaller pieces, as seen in the experiment.
• 🥶 Plastic Pepsi bottle resists pressure build-up from freezing, resulting in a disappointing outcome.
• ☕ Differences in materials impact the outcomes of freezing experiments with carbonated beverages.
• 💦 Water and sugar freeze into a frothy texture in contact with liquid nitrogen, creating unique visuals.
• 🫠 The professor finds excitement in observing the melting process of frozen liquid nitrogen experiments.
• 🏦 Central banks like the Bank of England store reserves in gold due to its value and stability.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the outcome of freezing the Coke can in liquid nitrogen?

The Coke can exploded spectacularly due to CO₂ gas expansion, creating a frothy artwork when the liquid froze upon contact with liquid nitrogen.

Q: Why did the Pepsi bottle freeze without splitting in the experiment?

The Pepsi bottle froze without splitting because the plastic material resisted the pressure build-up caused by freezing, resulting in a disappointing outcome compared to the Coke can.

Q: What interesting texture was observed in the ice of the frozen Coke can?

The ice inside the frozen Coke can cracked into smaller, powdery pieces, resembling sand, which was expected as ice tends to crack when exposed to liquid nitrogen.

Q: Why did the experiment with Pepsi not yield the same explosive results as with Coke?

The Pepsi bottle did not split due to the plastic material being more resistant to pressure build-up caused by freezing, resulting in a solid block of frozen liquid with no visible reaction.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Professor conducts an experiment freezing Coke and Pepsi cans in liquid nitrogen.

• Coke can explodes spectacularly due to gas expansion while Pepsi bottle disappoints.

• Ice in liquid nitrogen cracks into smaller pieces, revealing interesting textures.