Coke & Mentos

The experiment of combining mentos and soda has been one of the most popular experiments of the early twenty-first century.   Such a popularity was initiated by Steve Spangler, who, in both 2002 and 2005, appeared on television to demonstrate what had then become an internet phenomenon.   Later on, the experiment was further popularized by the website Eepybird.com, which featured the widely known video starring Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, who were presenting a demonstration of numerous Coke bottles and mentos going off in a timely manner.   Being viewed over ten million times at the time of its creation, the video earned a total of $50,000, making it one of the most highly profitable clips of the time.
One of the biggest trends in modern-day America is to set the record for the biggest display of soda geysers simultaneously reacting.   According to the Guinness World Record, the latest record for this feat was set on June 19, 2008, for the total of 1,911 simultaneous geysers.
    So, what do you need to create this explosion of soda foam?   One material you need is a roll of mentos.   Mentos have an oblate spheroid shape, meaning that, in simple terms, they look like spheres that have been pressed down a slight bit.   Their exteriors are hard, containing inside a softer interior.   For this experiment, regular mint mentos work the best, simply because the other varieties of mento are coated with a layer of flavoring, which slows the reaction between the carbonated beverage and the chewable mint candy.   The reason for this will be explained shortly.
    The second, and only other, ingredient you will need for this experiment is a two-liter bottle containing any carbonated beverage.   As many past demonstrations, as well as my own experiments, have shown, Diet Coke seems to work the best with the mentos to create a glorious geyser.   To understand how mentos react with soda in the first place, we must break down the composition of the latter.   In most, if not all,...