Coke physics (ice and pressure)

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter LostConjugate
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Physics Pressure
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the phenomenon of supercooling in carbonated beverages, specifically Coca-Cola, under pressure. Users noted that the liquid remained unfrozen despite being in a freezer, attributing this to the high pressure within the bottle, which prevents crystallization. The freezing point of water decreases under increased pressure, allowing for lower temperatures without solidification. The conversation references the phase diagrams of water and soda, indicating that soda's pressure of approximately 300 kPa does not significantly alter its freezing point.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of supercooling and nucleation processes
  • Familiarity with phase diagrams and their interpretation
  • Knowledge of the physical properties of water and carbonated beverages
  • Basic principles of pressure and temperature relationships in liquids
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the effects of pressure on the freezing point of liquids
  • Explore the phase diagram of water in detail
  • Investigate supercooling techniques and applications in various liquids
  • Examine the chemical composition of carbonated beverages and its impact on physical properties
USEFUL FOR

Scientists, food technologists, and anyone interested in the physical chemistry of liquids, particularly those studying the effects of pressure on freezing points and supercooling phenomena.

LostConjugate
Messages
850
Reaction score
3
Funny thing just happened. I left my coke in the freezer, expecting the bottle to be busted I found that it wasn't even frozen at all. Liquid all the way through. Figured it was that new fake sugar chemical, but when I unscrewed the cap it instantly turned to ice.

So I guess you can prevent water from freezing if you have enough pressure on it, by preventing it from expanding it doesn't crystallize.

How cold can you get water in this case without turning it to ice? As cold as you want?

Or does the water stop releasing heat.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I don't know if anybody's ever figured out the phase diagram for Coke :) but it sounds like it has the same "backwards" property that water has (that increasing pressure will keep it as a liquid in colder temperatures), which makes sense, since it's mostly water.

400px-Water_phase_diagram.svg.png


and see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Properties_of_water

Pressure on the Y scale, temperature on the X scale), we're normally at about 10^5 Pa pressure, showing that the freezing point is normally around 273K, but the freezing point drops lower as the pressure increases.
 
Is it possible to get it down to 1 degree Kelvin without freezing? It looks like from the charter there that there is a limit.
 
DaleSwanson said:
It seems soda has about 300kPa, which doesn't seem like it would significantly change the freezing point.
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/SeemaMeraj.shtml

Perhaps some of the coke froze, expanded, and increased the interior pressure enough to lower the freezing point...?
 
I think they pressurize the bottle when they pack it. So there was no way for it to expand in the first place. It was diet so there was no sugar in it, it's basically just flavored water.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
8K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
1K
  • · Replies 52 ·
2
Replies
52
Views
8K
  • · Replies 47 ·
2
Replies
47
Views
5K
Replies
9
Views
5K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
8K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
6K
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
6K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K