Why does soda fizz when you put ice in it?

Answer 1

i don't know I'm guessing dat when the soda is hot and u put ice in it (except when flat) the carbon in da soda pops out and makes a fizzing sound like the effect of pop rocks in ur mouth (spit)

Answer 2

It isn't the coldness, but the surface of the ice cube itself that creates the fizz.

Bubbles form more easily on rough surfaces than smooth ones. If you have a pan with tiny scratches on its inside bottom, try putting it on a burner with some water in it. Just as it starts to show signs of boiling, you'll notice the first bubbles form along those scratch marks. These areas are called 'cavitation sites'.

An ice cube dropped into a sparkling beverage generates bubbles NOT because of its temperature, but because its surface roughness provides more cavitation sites.

Answered by: Paul Walorski, B.A., Part-Time Physics Instructor

The extra fizz in a glass full of ice is due to a 'seeding effect.' Although you are correct that the solubility of CO2 is higher in colder soda, The formation of visible bubbles is also dependent on the collection of gas molecules together. Due to the polarity of water and the non-polar nature of CO2 molecules, any nascent bubble will quickly enlarge as nearby molecules collide and merge with it. The gas molecules are far less likely to return to the polar aqueous environment surrounding the bubble, as the attraction between water molecule squeezes the CO2 out from between the water molecules. So if you can get a bubble started, it will grow to visible size and float to the top.

The ice provides a substrate with small crystalline holes which can temporarily hold a few CO2 molecules near each other and get the ball rolling. You can see the same effect if you pour your soda into a glass with a scratch on the inside, and a similar effect if you just use a dirty glass (try rubbing your finger up one side before pouring).

This effect is noticeable only because the solubility of CO2 is so low in water in the first place. The random collisions of particles at refrigerator cold temperatures is low enough to allow many distant CO2 molecules to remain isolated for a long time (many minutes) without a little help from some surface.

Answered by: Rob Landolfi, None, Science Teacher, Washington, DC http://www.physlink.com/Education/askExperts/ae441.cfm

Answer 3

This dousn't just happen in cola. Ice cubes will also crack in water and other drinks. The drink will start to transfer heat fairly quickly into the ice. However, ice is a poor conductor of heat, so the outside will warm up faster and thus expand faster than the inside. This places stress on the ice cube, causing it to crack. This doesn't happen when an ice cube is left out in the open because heat is not transferred as quickly from the air.

Answer 4

Ice cubes cause extra fizz in a Coke because of the temperature. The ice is much colder than the soda, so it fizzes when it is put into it.

Answer 5

Probably because the ice being added makes the soda move around the glass more, which would create more fizz.