They start as invisible protobubbles, tiny clusters of carbon dioxide molecules. Pop the top, release the pressure, and bingo! Bubbles.īut those newly visible bubbles don't show up just anywhere. The bottle's contents are under pressure, so the carbon dioxide cannot expand to form bubbles. Both sources agree on the principles in action.Ī properly sealed bottle of carbonated beverage shows no bubbles. Thanks to Geophysical Institute librarian Judie Triplehorn, I found a more elaborated answer in a 1989 issue of Discover magazine. His question: "In a carbonated beverage, why do the rising bubbles always seem to stream up from individual spots, as though emanating from distinct localities on the surface of the container?"ĭavis had to hunt for a couple of months before he found the answer in a book called Butter Side Up, by Magnus Pyke. ĭavis had been challenged by reader Glenn Estabrook of Fairbanks. Thus this column returns to the subject of Neil Davis's #486, dated February 1981: Bubbles in Beer. That's the case of the all-time interest-getter, the one that brought more comments on the order of, "You know, I always wondered about that." than any other. Sometimes the articles that catch people's interest prove to be surprising to their authors. People will call in, or write, or we'll encounter someone at the post office who has something to say about a column. Although the column itself is no subject for a science article, I couldn't let the anniversary pass without note, and a comment or two.Įach of us who produced these informal discussions into science-Davis, Larry Gedney, Sue Ann Bowling, and I-have discovered that some items produce more comment than others. This is the one thousandth column produced under various names-Science Forum, Diggings, and others-since Neil Davis sat down in March 1976 and cranked out the first one in this series.
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