Making the world's most expensive carbonated water!

TL;DR

The creator spends over $1,000 and several weeks burning diamonds to create carbonated water, only to find that it tastes no different than regular soda water.

Transcript

Earlier this year, my brother was reading a lot  about the history of chemistry, and he was telling   me about an experiment, that he thought was really  interesting. For this experiment, a diamond was   placed in a jar with oxygen, and then it was  heated up using sunlight, and a really big lens.   The diamond which was nearly pure carbon, burned ... Read More

Key Insights

• 🫢 Diamond, although considered nearly indestructible, can be burned and converted into carbon dioxide gas when heated at high temperatures with oxygen.
• 😎 Quartz glass proved to be a suitable material for holding and heating the diamonds, while regular glass melted under the high temperatures.
• 🫢 Liquid nitrogen was effective in freezing the CO2 gas and turning it into dry ice.
• 💦 Despite the high cost and effort involved, carbonated water made with diamond-derived CO2 tasted the same as regular carbonated water.
• 🤙 The experiment highlights the uniqueness and novelty of using diamonds in scientific experiments, but calls into question the practical value and cost-effectiveness of such endeavors.
• ◾ The creator made small vials of diamond water to give away in a contest, demonstrating the fascination and perceived value of the idea, despite the lack of taste differentiation.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the creator burn the diamonds and collect the resulting carbon dioxide?

The creator used quartz glass and a blowtorch to heat the diamonds until they were red-hot, then passed oxygen over them. They collected the CO2 gas using a setup with a liquid nitrogen bath to freeze the gas and turn it into dry ice.

Q: Why did the creator choose to use diamonds for this experiment?

The creator wanted to test the concept of carbonating water using diamonds as a unique and expensive material. They were also intrigued by the idea of "drinking diamonds".

Q: Did the experiment go smoothly?

The creator faced some challenges with leaking glass and had to switch to using metal components. They also had to modify their setup to ensure the CO2 gas could be captured properly. Overall, the experiment was successful but time-consuming.

Q: What was the outcome of the experiment?

The creator successfully carbonated water using the CO2 gas obtained from burning diamonds. However, they found that the taste was no different from regular carbonated water, making the effort and expense seem less worthwhile.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The creator buys small diamonds on eBay to use in an experiment to burn and convert them into CO2 gas.

• They build a setup using quartz glass and a blowtorch to heat the diamonds and pass oxygen over them.

• The creator successfully collects the CO2 gas and uses it to carbonate water using a SodaStream machine, but finds that the taste is indistinguishable from regular carbonated water.