• Question: Why does a frozen fizzy drink can burst open

    Asked by Einstein123jnr to Áine, Ciarán, Eoin, Lydia, Victoria on 9 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Lydia Bach

      Lydia Bach answered on 9 Nov 2014:

      Hiya Einstein123jnr,

      this has happened to me before: I wanted my drink to be cool, put it in the freezer but forgot about it. When I remembered it had exploded and made a mess!

      It happens because water expands when it freezes. Water is made from hydrogen and oxygen atoms that sit in a nice crystalline or lattice structure. When water starts to freeze the lattice takes up more space, which is why water expands when it freezes!
      The fizz is created by CO2 gas bubbles dissolved in the water mix. When the water becomes ice, the bubbles are squeezed closer together and out of the mix. The escaping bubbles can also cause the walls of the drink can to bulge. – So the expanding ice and the CO2 gas cause a lot of pressure on a can that was designed for a smaller volume of water (not ice!), causing it to burst open and a mess in the freezer.

      This guy has done the experiment, its really quite an explosion:

    • Photo: Áine Broderick

      Áine Broderick answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      It actually has to do with a simple fact… when you freeze water it will expand (also the reason why potholes are worse around winter), taking up more space than is available in the bottle or can which causes the bottle or can to burst open.

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