Project applications

[Soulous]

Hello, I am doing an experiment on temperature and how it affects the rate at which a liquid loses carbonation?
What is the value or importance of something like this? What are some applications?
Thanks.

[deleted-71712]

Hi Soulous,

Welcome to the forum.

You've picked an interesting topic, and I bet you've already been thinking about carbonated beverages as an application. For example, you've probably noticed that a bottle of soda goes flat faster if opened at room temperature than if opened while cold. This is because most gases are more soluble in water at lower temperatures -- "gas solubility" would be a good phrase to put into search engines. High pressures also increase gas solubility, which is why bubbles stay inside the drink while the cap is on no matter even when it's warm.

Something else that learning about gas solubility can help you understand: Have you heard of the "bends", an illness that deep-sea divers experience when they come up to the surface too quickly? That occurs because under the high pressures far under the surface, more nitrogen dissolves in the blood. If the pressure is suddenly lowered, that extra nitrogen is no longer soluble and forms lots of tiny bubbles throughout the body.

Some links to get you started:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solubility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry%27s_law
http://www.chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physica ... y_Of_Gases
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Ch ... y_of_Gases

Amanda

[Soulous]

Thank you for the reply and ideas. I will be sure to take a look at those links. I have another question though: What is the best way to control the temperature of the carbonated beverage that I am using? For example, for cold temperatures I could simply use the refrigerator and for the control I can just use room temperature. But what would be the best method to heat the liquid and keep it at a stable temperature? Keep in mind that I will most likely be using cans of sodas so heating on the stove probably won't work (?).

[deleted-71588]

You might consider using a water bath on the stove for temperatures above room temperature up to boiling and an ice/water bath for temperatures above 32F and below room temperature. By using a large container with lots of water, you create a thermal mass that won't change temperature quickly so you can add heat or ice slowly to compensate for any heat exchange. For ice/water baths, you might consider using an insulated cooler.

Another variable you need to consider is the pressure. If you run different parts of the experiment at different times, the barometric/atmospheric pressure can change and introduce an uncontrolled variable.

[Soulous]

Thanks for the help so far. I have another question though, what would be the easiest accurate way to measure carbonation in the sodas over time? At first, I was planning to do it by weight loss, but I think that the sodas could also be affected by evaporation then. Any ideas?
Thanks again.

[kgudger]

Hello:

I did a little web searching, and it looks like it might work to put a balloon over the can opening. Collect all the gas from each can in a balloon, and then measure the volume of the balloon using the displacement method (use your search engine to find out about this.)

Since you can only get one accurate measurement per can (after you take off the balloon the first time, all the rest of the carbonation can come out unmeasured.) You will want to choose an amount of time for each can that is somewhere in the middle of its losing all of its carbonation. If you were to heat a can and wait until the balloon stops filling, the volume of the balloon is approximately equal to the amount of carbonation in one can. Then you can do all of your temperatures and measure the time until the balloon is about half as full as the "total loss" balloon size. You will then measure each balloon and the time, arriving at a volume per time for each temperature. HTH.

Keith

[Soulous]

Thanks for all the answers guys, but I need one more thing. Are there any other key topics that I should research that will assist in doing my project besides gas solubility? I ask because I have not been able to write nearly enough for my paper.

[Soulous]

Anyone?