Any advice on a Mentos and Diet Coke "how to" paper?

[Elgin Clock]

I picked this topic to write about in my Tech Writing class since we did this countless times over the summer.

The book says to go with something you have done many times, so that you are well versed in the project and know what you are talking about.

I do.. but.. I may have forgotten something since the summer, so if anyone has any advice or things that SHOULD or NEED to be in a paper like this, I'm all for it.

Also, any special procedures you used (one mentos - twelve mentos: what worked better, etc etc.) would be appreciated as well.

Thanks everyone!

Edit: I will be writing half the paper on a Diet Coke and Mentos Fountain, and the other half on Launching Soda bottles with Diet Coke and with (or without) Mentos.

By the way, the paper is due Monday 10/9/06 so quick replies over this weekend are essential!!!!

Thanks again!

[Alex Cormier]

Hmm.

Materials:

Soda pop; Diet Coke
candies; Mentos

Procedure:
mix and stand back while watching your neighbors car get soda all over it.
enjoy.




haha :p

[GRaduns340]

It's always fun to see how long it takes to blow the cap off if you screw it on loose enough.

[DCA Fan]

I use 1 roll of mentos, rolled into a sheet of paper. 2 liter bottle of diet coke required, other sizes don't go off as well.

[MissInformation]

Different sodas do work. Mountain Dew does not work, neither does any orange soda I've tried.

I showed it to my niece and nephew this summer, and we found that Ginger ale works great! (http://www.factorfantasy.com/Photos/exploda.jpg) Cherry ginger ale will give you a pink fountain. Diet cola works great too. I haven't done enough experiments to see if it really is better than other sodas, but Coke Zero was a pretty high fountain too. 12 mentos seems to be a good amount, however, you still have to get them all in fairly quickly.

Heidi

[Graham Donaldson]

Don't forget the trick of wrapping it in plastic wrap and screwing the top on to contain the reaction, then throwing it on the ground and seeing if you can hit a bulls-eye!

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I wonder if anyone's been able to put a balloon on the top of one and make a rocket from that. I should try that tomorrow.

[thegathering]

Mythbusters did a coke + mentos special on it which you can read about here:
http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-mythbustersmentos,0,4325641.story

According to the Mythbusters, a soda that is artificially sweetened but does not contain excessive amounts of sugar works best. Also, according to the Mythbusters, table salt gives a better reaction than the mentos candy.

[DonRotolo]

I have found that more than six mentos does not increase the reaction significantly (assumes 2 liters of diet soda)

Don't forget that non-diet soda is not as desireable, since the sugar damps the reaction and creates a sticky mess.

I'd stay away form the fancy stuff, like rockets that can hit (and hurt) you just as easily as go straight up, or leaving caps on.

Don