Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment

The classic Diet Coke and Mentos experiment attracted millions of viewers worldwide with its recent debut on a Google video. The simple Diet Coke and Mentos experiment can be easily coordinated at home by dropping just one roll of Mentos candy pieces into a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke. Wait about 20 seconds, and you will witness a physical reaction in action! The Mentos coating reacts with the Diet Coke to create an explosive combustion effect; the Diet Coke will literally shoot straight out like a streaming fountain.

This well-known experiment recently gained public interest thanks to the works of Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz. These two created an extreme version titled the ‘Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment” with a Bellagio fountain recreation. The duo synchronized a series of Diet Coke bottles back to back, stealing worldwide attention on the web to view their video with music. They reportedly used 101 bottles of Diet Coke and 523 Mentos to create their experiment..

So what is the genius behind this experiment? What goes on behind the scenes? Mentos and soda are both composed of sugar, making the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment purely physical. The carbon dioxide gas pumped into each Diet Coke bottle allows a buildup of pressure in between the liquid and top of the bottle. Most of us have experienced the valuable action of shaking a soda bottle, then opening it; the soda and gas are pushed out in a torrential stream, often soaking yourself and passersby.

Without physically shaking the bottle, the same reaction can be caused by adding salt to create foam, ice cream (think root beer floats) to encourage fizz, and now, Mentos to bring forth an explosion. The gelatin and gum arabic that dissolve after the Mentos are dropped into the Diet Coke are the catalyst for the reaction; because each Mentos candy is covered in little indentations, these are perfect areas for carbon dioxide to attach themselves to. The weight of the Mentos candy pieces make it sink to the bottom of the bottle, and so the explosive charge is encouraged.