What causes a coke can when in the freezer for a long period of time to explode?
475191
it's my understanding that it doesn't really 'explode' - when liquids freeze they generally expand and become hard. since the coke is contained by a can, with part of the top thinner around the tab (due to the scoring), when the liquid starts freezing in some part of the can the remaining liquid is displaced so there is part ice and part liquid. Finally, the remaining liquid freezes, and because there is less room in the can (due to the previous frozen matter, which has taken up more room)there is not sufficient room for all the  material which is trying to freeze - and the can separates at its weakest points. That's why when you open the freezer you may find some contents which have burst out and refrozen once they have'escaped' confinement.
841670
well basically its just a chemical reaction.\n\nSince Soda is basically just made up of sugur,flavoring, water and preservatives. Since Mentos is a heavy peice of candy it sinks to the bottom of the coke bottle which making it easier for more bubbles to be formed from the bottom up. Each Mentos candy has thousands of tiny pits all over the surface. These tiny pits are called nucleation sites - perfect places for carbon dioxide bubbles to form. So thats what causes the eruption and boom it explode.
952201
You might consider attaching a tube to the cap and have the tube extend down into the coke to the bottom of the bottle. That way the pressure inside will force the diet coke up the tube and out into the world for great enjoyment.
85146
When you freeze water it expands, which increases it's volume. With a closed bottle, the pressure gives the expanding water no where to go, therefore the bottle must expand with the water, making it explode.
93082
Both the previous answers are good except shaking the can does not increase the pressure within the can, which is a surprise to most people.  I read somewhere (and the link of one of the posters confirms) that the pressure within the can remains the same, which is actually above atmospheric pressure.  If you open a can without shaking it, a small volume of Carbon dioxide expands with a slight pop and a very small surface area of fluid is now exposed to the atmosphere at the top of the can.  Carbon dioxide is now free to enter and leave the fluid surface and since the fluid has a higher concentration of CO2, the net effect is loss from the fluid until at equilibrium with the atmosphere after which the soda is flat.\n\nShaking the container disperses CO2 bubbles (not air) throughout the fluid greatly increasing its effective surface area for separation and since the entire content is above atmospheric pressure the CO2 bubbles expand to atmospheric pressure and overflow the can.  The fizz in a glass of soda (or the opened can) represents the tiny bubbles of CO2 that form at nucleation points on the glass until large enough to rise and pop at the surface.  I'd imagine that adding soap which forms a better film would change the fizz to foam, but why ruin a perfectly good soda (or beer), right?
968784
Yes,\n\n But it doesn't really explode, its more like when you shake up a bottle of soda but in a column.\n\n The more mentos, the more impressive and you have to be sure that there's a lot of carbonation.\n\n Another fun thing that you can do (that deals with the same thing) is put some mentos in your mouth, take a swig or coke and try to keep you mouth closed- lots of fun! (but be sure to open your mouth before it goes out your nose because that really hurts...)
32704
it is a known cause of canser.dont worry, you have to drink alot.and i mean ALOT
476322
==========\n\nClose a glass bottle with a Cork at normal temperature and than put it in a freezer for one hour.\n\nThe low temperature will cause the gas to contract.\n\nNow try to open it. You will find it very difficult to open it, why?\n\nBecause of reduced temperature air inside the bottle will be contracted and thus the air pressure inside the bottle will decrease. The higher atmospheric pressure will try to push the Cork inside the bottle which will make it difficult to open the bottle.
551957
because the co2 is pressurized, meaning the molecules have greater kinetic energy even at the same temperature. when the seal is broken, it depressurizes so the kinetic energy of the molecules can equalize, and so lots of co2 molecules rush out, making a whoosh sound because they cause air molecules to vibrate as they move, making sound.
960255
Tempering can cause glass to explode. Tempering means that there are internal stresses within the glass that result from uneven cooling from its molten state during the manufacturing process due to the glass's thermal expansion characteristics. This can occur due to carelessness or intentionally. So called "safety glass", like that used in autos, is intentionally tempered. If the glass is even slightly nicked, the tempering resulting is stress concentration that can cause a chain reaction releasing all the stress in the glass  in a great low energy "explosion" of glass pellets. The idea is that no one shard of broken glass is large enough to cause serious injury.
528103
The most likely cause would be tensions in the glass during cooling; if the light had just (or recently) been switchd off then glass cooling at different rates can easily cause stress in the bulb which can cause it to explode. \n\n This could be triggered by very cold air in the room, something on the surface of the bulb or just a badly made bulb with for example varying glass thickness which could cause it to cool at different rates.  Cooling at different rates causes an explosion as the glass contracts in different rates and as glass is so brittle this can cause enough stress to crack the glass.\n\nTheatre and TV lights which burn at very high temperatures (typically in excess of 2000K) has to be dipped in alchohol if touched accidentally by human hands.  The oils from your fingers burn at the high temperatures and when the bulb is switched off the soot cools much quicker causeing the bulb to crack/explode.
858849
Easy. You heated the can, which means the air inside the can, including steam, was at a high temperature. That means it occupied more space. When you dunked it into cold water, the steam turned back into water, and the air in the can became more dense. The can crumpled because you basically created a vacuum effect. You decreased the volume suddenly by reducing the temperature.\n\nEnough?
925494
you're forcing the CO2 out of solution all at once.  because it can only exit through a small opening it seems explosive
1168063
Air pressure.  It actually implodes not explodes.  There is no airpressure in the cargo holds at that height.  The key being that it was sealed.  Watch for shampoo bottles or anything like that.  I had a suitcase full of shampoo. :-(
199577
ok, guys.  both v_dawg and quicksilver are right.  when water makes a phase transition from liquid to solid (freezing) it expands in volume; that's why bottles filled with liquid will crack in the freezer.\n\non the other hand, if you leave it sitting there for a while, there will be a slow phase transition from solid to gas (sublimation) and over weeks-months the ice cubes will noticeably shrink in size.
97391
When you have fluids and acids in a can (especially soda, since soda has many acids in it), and so forth...when all the pressure expands in the can... it bursts, because there is no room for it to expand any longer.. \n\nGood luck!! \n\nMichelle -- not too good at science..hope this helps! LOL..\nHFA; higher-functioning Autism, Bipolar Disorder, and ADHD.
470974
The can and the air inside it expand. The can doesnt expand much, but the air does and a bunch of it flows out. When the can is placed in the cold water the can contracts really quickly and because there is less air pushing back on the walls it crunches up. There is nothing really big happening chemically.