The science of tapping a can to stop it foaming over

Posted by: admin , June 17, 2016

Do you tap on your can of soda/soft drink/fizzy drink before opening it? If so, there’s a theory that it ACTUALLY works!
Prior to opening a can, microscopic gas bubbles attach to the inside (known as nucleation), which expand in size & rise to the top of the can (displacing liquid in their path) once the can is opened.
The theory is that by tapping a can, the bubbles are dislodged – causing them to rise to the top, leaving fewer bubbles (especially those ‘deeper within the liquid’) to expand and travel to the surface, resulting in less liquid being dislodged.
You can thank Christopher Arthur Edward Hamlett (what a name!), a Chemistry lecturer from Nottingham Trent University.
What do you think? Legit, or urban legend??