Why Do Soft Drinks Explode When Shaken Up?

The main ingredients of most fizzy soft drinks are water, syrup and carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide is responsible for the fizz of the drink.

Features

• Soft drinks that are fizzy will explode upon opening if shaken or dropped beforehand. The fizz is the result of adding carbon gas under pressure to the bottle or can. Some of this carbon gas dissolves in the liquid while some of it floats to the top. Normally, when you open the lid a little bit of fizzing occurs as the pressure within the bottle or can is released

Effects

• If you shake the drink, the carbon that was floating at the top will become suspended in the liquid in the form of bubbles. If you open the lid at this point, these bubbles will rise to the top very quickly, causing an "explosion".

Prevention

• If you want to avoid being sprayed by the liquid after the bottle has been shaken, just allow it to sit for a few minutes until the bubbles settle down again.