"mentos" news and stories

Normally, I'd say that another post about Mentos and Diet Coke soda geyser phenomenon wouldn't be necessary. However, the folks at EepyBird.com have taken the plume of soda to new artistic levels. In a display that they liken to the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas, Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz let loose 200 liters of Diet Coke with the help of over 500 Mentos. During the roughly three minute display, the lab-coat-clad duo fire off soda from spinning pedestals, swings and arrays that seem better suited to fireworks rigs. EepyBird also has a decent explanation of the forces at work behind the magic. It's not just the gum arabic in Mentos that causes the fierce fizz, it's the texture of the candy that draws out the billions of bubbles.

In much the same vein as the glowing microwaved grapes I posted about a few weeks ago, I recently found several pages dedicated to showing what happens when you combine Mentos with Coca Cola. I first saw this amazing photo on Flickr, uploaded by someone named Undrin. Intrigued, I went to Google and found this video (here's another, just for good measure). According to Undrin's comment, the Mentos cause the surface tension of the liquid to decrease, allowing all of the carbonation to be released at once. More specifically, I learned, it's the arabic gum that causes the surface tension to decrease. It's also what makes Mentos chewy. You can find an explanation here, and more discussion on Snopes.