When savoring a glass of Champagne, the majority of us only care that the bubbles are traveling down our throats.
However, scientists from Brown University could not stop pondering why these bubbles rise vertically while those in other carbonated beverages do not.
To figure it out, they poured out Champagne, beer, sparkling water, and sparkling wine from containers and injected petrol into the bottom.
They then altered the size of the bubbles and added various ingredients to the beverages, noting how the bubbles were affected.
It was discovered that larger bubbles and the addition of specific proteins stabilize the bubble chains in Champagne, allowing them to ascend in a straight line.
Professor Roberto Zenit, the study’s senior author, explained, “This is the type of research I’ve been conducting for years.”
Most people have drunk seltzer, beer, or Champagne, but few have seen an ocean seep or aeration tank.
By discussing Champagne and beer, we hope to convince people of the importance of fluid mechanics in their daily existence.
Carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in carbonated beverages, causing bubbles to form.
This component adds a frothy texture, flavour, and sometimes shelf life by suppressing bacterial development.
When the beverage is opened, the pressure is released, allowing carbon dioxide to escape the solution as bubbles.
The beverage’s fluid dynamics determine the orientation of the bubble chain.
Champagne and sparkling wine gas bubbles rise in a steady bubble chain.
In beer, sparkling water, and other carbonated beverages. However, the bubbles can deviate off to the side due to an ‘unstable’ bubble chain.
An unstable chain creates the illusion that they are not connected and that multiple bubbles are ascending simultaneously.
Today’s Physical Review Fluids article investigated bubble chain stability factors.
First, they emptied one of the following beverages into a rectangular container: Pellegrino sparkling water, Tecate beer, Charles de Cazanove champagne, or a Spanish-style brut.
They then placed a needle into the bottom and pushed air through it to create bubbles.
The researchers then increased or decreased airflow to change bubble size and examined the chain’s response.
In addition, they added a special type of molecule known as a surfactant that is known to help stabilise bubbles.
