Carbonation

I was reading through a food science textbook and found this to be pretty interesting.

So we've all had soda before and experienced the "fizz" or "tingle" of a carbonated beverage. Turns out, that fizzy sensation has nothing to do with bubbles.

Carbonation refers to dissolving carbon dioxide in an aqueous solution. A byproduct of this process is carbonic acid (H2O + CO2 --> H2CO3).



Pepsi did an interesting study where they put consumers in a hyperbaric chamber that was set to the same pressure as a can of soda. When opened, the soda contained no bubbles, because there was no difference in pressure between the can and environment. However, consumers said they still experienced the same "bite" we expect in soda.

Further studies showed that the "fizzy" aspect of soda is caused entirely by carbonic and phosphoric acid.

You could mess with someone's head by dissolving a little bit of phosphoric and carbonic acid in fruit juice. It would appear entirely flat ("bubble-less"), but have the same "bubbly," "fizzy" feeling as a carbonated beverage.